An Indian-origin biomedical engineer has found herself at the center of a viral misinformation campaign after social media posts falsely accused her of being an undocumented immigrant involved in a US visa fraud scheme.
The claims, shared widely on X, were later disputed by the Indian American Impact Action Fund (IAA) before attorney John Manly issued a statement confirming that Sadhana Gollapudi is a US citizen by birth and has no connection to the allegations.
The episode has sparked fresh concerns about misinformation on social media, particularly as immigration-related posts continue to gain traction online.
Also read: Applying for a US immigration benefit? Missing documents can now lead to immediate denial
Who is Sadhana Gollapudi?
According to her public Instagram profile, Sadhana Gollapudi describes herself as a biomedical engineer and a Kuchipudi dancer. Her profile lists Houston, Texas, as her location and also links to her YouTube channel.
How the false allegations surfaced
{{/usCountry}}According to her public Instagram profile, Sadhana Gollapudi describes herself as a biomedical engineer and a Kuchipudi dancer. Her profile lists Houston, Texas, as her location and also links to her YouTube channel.
How the false allegations surfaced
{{/usCountry}}The debate began when the X account Cyber Green shared a post identifying Gollapudi and alleging that she had entered the United States on an F-1 student visa, overstayed her visa and was involved in immigration fraud.
“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. Works as a dancer & cash tutor violating her,” the post on X stated.
The post quickly gained traction on social media, with users widely sharing the allegations.
Soon afterwards, the Indian American Impact Action Fund (IAA) pushed back against the claims, stating that Gollapudi had been falsely identified and was, in fact, a US citizen.
“An American woman was filmed, named and falsely branded a “visa fraudster” before millions,” it stated on X.
“She is not a guest. She is not a suspect. She is an American….Naturalized Americans are not second-class citizens, and publicly destroying someone’s reputation with a reckless lie must have consequences,” the post added.
The issue was later addressed by US Attorney Aaron Reitz, who said his office had reviewed the matter.
"Thanks for flagging. My office looked. She's a naturalized US citizen, not here on student visa," Reitz wrote in a post on X.
He added that his office prosecutes visa fraud cases aggressively but said the allegations against Gollapudi were unfounded.
"As US Atty over Houston, I take visa fraud seriously. We prosecute it to the fullest. Neither illegal aliens nor those who obtain legal status illegally are welcome on American soil," Reitz wrote.
The clarification from the Indian American Impact Action Fund and U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz helped counter the misinformation after the allegations spread widely on social media.