A South Carolina convenience store was vandalized. Robber Rameshbhai Patel pleads guilty to faking it to get a clerk U visa

Indian man pleads guilty to faking a robbery to get a store clerk his U visa in South Carolina. A new U-visa incident has been reported as 47-year-old Birenkumar Rameshbhai Patel, an Indian-origin man in Columbia, pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally obtain a U visa for a store clerk. The clerk has been deported to India, the Justice Department said.A U Visa is a temporary US immigration status that is reserved for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and have been helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity. The U Visa provides a path to a Green Card and eventually US citizenship.Staged robbery at a convenience storeOn March 9, 2025, Birenkumar Rameshbhai Patel, also known as “Mike Patel,” and a convenience store clerk staged a robbery at a convenience store in Fairfield County. Law enforcement received a 911 call reporting a robbery.When the authorities arrived at the scene, the clerk attempted to explain the robbery before being transported to the hospital. Patel also arrived at the scene and attempted to explain the robbery.Officers reviewed surveillance video of the event, whic...