Irish J1 students arrested for falsifying passports
A number of Irish J1 students have been arrested in America for attempting to modify the date of birth on their passports.
According to the Union of Students in Ireland, this is a common practice amongst many students travelling to the US for the summer - as they try to appear over the age of 21 - so as to gain entry to pubs and nightclubs.
Tampering with or falsifying a passport is a criminal offence in Ireland.
But USI president Gary Redmond said that it is a federal offence in America.
"It’s a criminal offence to be in possession of a modified document,” he said.
“But in the US, it’s actually treated as a federal offence and any students found in possession of one of these documents may be sent to prison, fined or the very least be deported from America.”
