CHANDIGARH: A wave of stringent visa policies from Australia and the United States, combined with aggressive crackdowns on fraudulent applications, has plunged the immigration industry in the states of Haryana and Punjab into chaos.
Once-thriving visa consultancies in cities like Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Mohali, Patiala, Gurugram, Karnal, Kurukshetra, and Ladwa are now ghost towns, with business down by up to 60% in 2025, according to the Punjab Immigration Consultants Association. Thousands of aspiring students, workers, and families now face shattered dreams, while agents grapple with financial ruin and legal scrutiny.
Ground research revealed that the immigration industry is going through its worst period in recent years, with countries like Australia, the USA, the UK, and Canada — once top destinations — tightening their visa rules.
“This industry witnessed a boom in 2021 and 2023 as thousands of students from small towns like Ladwa in Kurukshetra district migrated to Australia, the UK, Canada, and the USA. But in the past year, the number of student visas has declined drastically,” said a visa consultant at a private coaching centre in Kurukshetra, which claims to have sent around 10,000 students abroad over the past decade.
“With Australia and Canada imposing stricter conditions, we are now focusing on Europe, especially Germany,” she added.
In early April 2025, reports emerged that several Australian universities had tightened restrictions on student visa applications from six Indian states — Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jammu & Kashmir — citing a surge in fraudulent applications. However, the Australian High Commission in New Delhi issued a statement denying a blanket ban but confirmed enhanced scrutiny, including mandatory document verification and pre-departure interviews to ensure “genuine” students.
According to immigration agents, these measures stem from long-standing concerns over unregulated education consultants, particularly in Punjab and Haryana, who have been accused of facilitating visa misuse. A 2023 report by The Australian highlighted that Western Sydney University had paused enrollments from Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat due to high dropout rates, with students often using study visas as a backdoor to employment. This trend has escalated, with Australia’s Department of Home Affairs reporting a 25% increase in visa cancellations for Indian students in 2024, prompting a broader overhaul under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s administration.
Figures reveal that the immigration industry estimates a 40% drop in student visa applications from Punjab and Haryana in 2025. In Kurukshetra, visa agent Arun Sharma, who has operated for over a decade, called the situation disastrous. Agents report that even a single typo in a bank statement or a gap in academic records now leads to visa rejection. Rejected visa applications also cost aspirants around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh, as they must deposit the university fee, embassy fee, and application processing fees to agents.
Australia’s international education sector, which relies on Indian students for AU$ 10 billion annually, now faces a delicate balancing act between immigration integrity and economic interests. The immigration issue has even dominated the Australian elections, with both major parties supporting reduced immigration and caps on university places available to foreign students.
On the other hand, the United States — another favourite destination for Indian students — has also intensified its immigration crackdown under the second Trump administration, which took office in January 2025.
The Department of State and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) revoked over 15,000 student visas (F-1 and J-1) in Q1 2025, with Indian nationals, particularly from Punjab and Haryana, facing the highest rejection rates. A March 2025 ICE report noted that 30% of revoked visas involved suspected fraud, including forged financial documents and misrepresented academic credentials. A high-profile case in March 2025 saw Delhi Police’s Crime Branch register FIRs against 32 visa agents from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh following a complaint from the US Embassy. The agents allegedly charged clients Rs 10 to Rs 30 lakh for forged documents to secure US visas, prompting a nationwide probe.
In February 2025, the Punjab and Haryana High Court described visa fraud as a “national embarrassment,” urging stricter regulation of the immigration ecosystem. According to the Open Doors Report for the academic year 2023–24, India sent over 3.3 lakh students to the US — a 23% increase over the previous year. Recently, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) received 327 reports of visa cancellations and SEVIS terminations from attorneys, students, and university staff. Notably, half of the affected international students were from India.
Punjab Police’s February 2025 raids on 1,274 immigration firms led to seven arrests after deportees alleged they were duped with promises of legal US entry via European countries. Many paid agents up to Rs 50 lakh, only to be deported after entering the US on tourist or student visas. In Gurugram, a hub for IT professionals seeking H-1B visas, USCIS backlogs and stricter scrutiny have delayed family reunifications, with approval rates for Indian applicants dropping to 65% in 2024.
The immigration industry, a cornerstone of Haryana and Punjab’s economy, is collapsing. Chandigarh, Jalandhar, and Gurugram — home to over 2,000 visa consultancies — have seen revenues plummet by 50–60% in 2025, according to the Punjab Immigration Consultants Association.