A mother from Naperville came to the United States in search of a better life. Her job is going well. Her son is doing well. She likes her community. But she’s worried after a recent attempt to improve her immigration status left her feeling threatened.
She immigrated to the US and asked that we use only her last name – Sinha.
Most days, she’s typing away at a computer, on the clock as an IT specialist, off the clock researching ways to get a green card so she and her son can stay here for good.
“I was thinking in those terms as a mother. What can I do to make life easier for my family?” she said.
Sinha left India on a temporary work visa. She applied for a permanent work visa, called an EB2, in 2017 and is still waiting for it to be processed.
“People say it can take a lifetime to get the green card,” she said.
So the Naperville mom is switching gears and trying for a different type of Green Card that seems to process faster, nicknamed the Einstein visa. Officially, the EB1A visa is for people with extraordinary ability.
“I feel that after 16 years in this IT field, I have a lot in my bag,” Sinha said.
To spruce up her application, Sinha contacted the people behind The Next League Programme. It’s essentially a visa coaching service.
The company’s LinkedIn page also features videos bragging about their success with so-called Einstein Visas.
“There were reviews on his brochure, but there was no [independent] review online,” Sinha said.
Sinha decided not to proceed with the coaching, but had already paid a $2,000 deposit, which the company said was non-refundable.
So she filed a credit card dispute with Capital One and received a temporary credit of $2,000.
Then things took a turn for the worse. Ranjeet Mudholkar, the creator of the Next League programme, sent her an email saying the company was “taking legal action” over the chargeback.
He warned of “police complaints” and possible “civil and criminal proceedings”.
“I was shocked. I was not expecting that kind of email from someone so sophisticated,” said Sinha.
The email went on to say that her actions – a seemingly simple credit card dispute – could have “serious implications for your immigration status”.
“I had a fast heartbeat and all that stuff. That’s how my body reacts to stress,” Sinha said.
She was so stressed that she panicked and paid Mudholkar $2,500 via Zelle to make the problem go away. She said he promised to pay her back if the Capital One chargeback was reversed.
“I was scared for myself and my family,” she said.
Immigration lawyer Suzanne Seltzer said, “I can’t imagine the police are very interested in this.
Seltzer doesn’t think a credit card dispute is something the US Citizenship and Immigration Services would be interested in either.
She sees the email as an empty threat to a vulnerable person.
“I have 30 years of EB1A experience,” she said. “It’s something I’m very passionate about, and when I hear that someone is being exploited, it’s disturbing.”
Mudholkar disagreed. He exchanged several emails with CBS 2, standing by his decision to warn the woman about the legal implications of contesting a charge that wasn’t refundable.
He offered a “solution”: her money was “rightfully hers” and the company would “promptly issue her a refund” if she signed an affidavit saying she had “inadvertently withdrawn from The Next League Program”.
“I didn’t sign it. You see, ‘accidentally’, that’s not true,” she said.
Sinha said she’s now “working on my efforts” to get a green card.
She’s down a lot of money, but not out of motivation.
After CBS 2 contacted Capital One, the company turned around and Sinha won her credit card dispute. The bank refused to explain why it took a TV station to get her money back.
But she is still without the $2,500 she sent to Mudholkar via Zelle.
