Recently, three persons from Gujarat were arrested based on a complaint from the U.S. Consulate, Chennai. Two applicants posing as couple with fraudulent marriage certificate, bank statements and degree certificates were caught by the U.S. Consulate authorities on June 23, 2009. It is understood that they were assisted by an agent who was also arrested.  In wake of these arrests, we would like to reiterate that even marking a “Yes/No” to certain questions on the DS-156 form could be considered as misrepresentation under certain circumstances since these forms are signed under penalty of perjury. We constantly advise clients to be honest at the visa interview – this way, even if the visa is refused, the applicant(s) may re-apply for a different category of visa if appropriate or if the applicant’s personal circumstances change, s/he could still apply for a visa. By misrepresenting or providing fraudulent documents, the applicant(s) are subject to a permanent bar from entering the U.S. Though waivers are available under very limited circumstances, it is very difficult to obtain such waivers and one should never misrepresent in the first place.