No DUI, no illegal employment: Indian student got deported from US for one honest answer

An Indian student has recently been deported from the airport for one honest answer that he did not know would be considered illegal in the US. San Jose-based immigration attorney Malavika Nandivelugu made a social media post on the experience of the Indian student who had a clean record, no DUI, no proof of any illegal employment. But when he was asked whether he had ever used weed, he said yes. “Here’s what many of you don’t fully understand: legality at the state level means nothing in immigration context. Under federal law, marijuana is still illegal. As an F-1 student, admitting to use—even casually, even once—can destroy your immigration status,” the attorney said, explaining that this incident has nothing to do with immigration crackdown, it is nothing new. Students are told about this during orientation sessions as well but most of them miss it as they don’t pay attention. “This isn’t about morality. It’s about consequences. He didn’t lie. He didn’t have intent to break rules. He just didn’t know the weight of what he was saying. And that lack of awareness cost him everything,” Nandivelugu said.“I’ve seen students’ parents back home living a nightmare because their kids in the US drift into recreational drugs, waste time, waste money, and eventually lose their future,” the attorney said. Even though many states have legalized marijuana, under U.S. federal law (the Controlled Substances Act), weed is still illegal. Immigration is governed by federal law, not state law.Prince Harry too had faced a controversy in relation to drugs as he openly admitted in his memoir Spare that he took marijuana, cocaine and psychedelic drugs, though US visa applications specifically ask about past drug use. But he was not deported from the US after a long legal battle.