U.S. immigration authorities regularly deport two to three Pakistani passengers aboard the Pakistani national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, upon arriving in the United States, airline sources said. According to them, Pakistanis are deported because U.S. immigration officials aren't taking any chances. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Pakistanis were rounded up in large numbers across the United States and the deportation of Pakistanis entering the United States was sped up.

The majority of the Pakistani passengers being deported are those entering on a student visa. Usually, they are sent back to Pakistan because of discrepancies in their documents or if they lack any requisite documents.

Pakistan Embassy sources in Washington, D.C. say that most of these deportations are taking place in Houston, Texas.

Last Sunday, several Pakistani passengers from Karachi, Pakistan were deported as soon as they arrived in Houston, among them was the son of an influential and high-ranking Pakistani leader; authorities found problems with his I-20 form (certificate of eligibility for non-immigrant (F-1) student status for academic and language students). Although an official from the Pakistani consulate in Houston called immigration authorities to request a show of leniency, the intervention failed to stop the young man's deportation. U.S. authorities sent the student back home that same evening.

U.S. consulates in Pakistan issue visas to Pakistanis only after lengthy background checks are conducted and a security clearance is granted. For many, it is very surprising that Pakistanis who receive their visa after such a painstaking process are being deported.