"Naturalised Citizen": US Backs Indian-Origin Woman Accused Of "Visa Fraud"

An account on X accused Sadhana Gollapudi, a resident of Houston in Texas, of being a "forever F1 student".

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Sadhana Gollapudi accused the account of "spreading false and misleading claims"
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Summary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed
  • An Indian-origin woman was falsely accused of student visa fraud on social media
  • A viral post claimed she was a "forever F1 student" violating visa rules in Houston
  • US Attorney Aaron Reitz confirmed she is a naturalised US citizen, not a visa violator
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New Delhi:

An Indian-origin woman in the US has been embroiled in a social media storm after an X user falsely accused her of "student visa fraud".

A post by an account that goes by the username 'CyberGreen09' on X accused Sadhana Gollapudi, a resident of Houston in Texas who also performs Kuchipudi -- a traditional Indian dance form -- of being a "forever F1 student", referring to a visa that allows international students to study at US colleges.

"Meet Sadhana Gollapudi, forever F1 student since 2014. Sadhana enjoys traditional barefoot crab dancing in Houston, Texas. For 12 years, she has played the student visa game, enrolling in multiple programs," the post on July 30 read. 

"Works as a dancer & cash tutor violating her visa," the account wrote, sharing a video of Gollapudi performing Kuchipudi and using the hashtag #visafraud.

As the post went viral, the attorney for Houston, Aaron Reitz, stepped in and said that she is a naturalised US citizen.

"Thanks for flagging. My office looked. She's a naturalized US citizen, not here on student visa," he said in response to the post on August 4.    

"Your support means more than you know. Thank you for standing by me," she added.

"A Pakistani Troll Account"

After facing backlash online, 'CyberGreen09', who, as per the bio, is the "fan account" of Pakistani actor Hamza Sohail, briefly made the profile private. The account was also accused of being "a troll Pakistani account", and many users claimed it repeatedly shares anti-Indian rhetoric.

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Some users also asked the US attorney to look into the account.

"An American woman was filmed, named and falsely branded a 'visa fraudster' before millions. The office of Aaron Reitz, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, confirmed the allegation was false: she is a naturalized American citizen. Yet rather than condemn the person who publicly smeared her, Reitz used her exoneration to rant about 'illegal aliens' and who is 'welcome on American soil'," the Indian American Advocacy Council wrote on X.

"Will you be prosecuting the person who doxxed this young woman. What rights do American citizens have against this," another user asked Reitz.

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