US cops scan Rana's immigration business

American sleuths probing the operations of an immigration business run by Pakistani-Canadian Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative Tahawwur Hussain Rana feel that allowing the firm to continue to function will help monitor its clients for "possible terrorist ties".

49-year-old Rana's immigration consultancy firm First World Immigration, located in the Indian-Pakistani street Devon Avenue in Chicago, is being probed for possible acts of immigration fraud as part of wider investigation into an international terror plot against India and Denmark.

'Despite the firm's alleged ties to terror, there is value in allowing First World Immigration to continue doing business as normal since it made it easier for the FBI to monitor its clients for possible terrorist ties. If you shut it down, those people are lost to the wind,' NBC Chicago quoted a senior law-enforcement official as saying.

It said the case against the businessman based in Chicago is especially troubling because it is a rare example of how a seemingly legitimate American business -- in this case, Rana's visa-processing firm -- may have been used as a front for an overseas terrorist network that targets Americans.

The FBI has said Rana's accomplice David Coleman Headley, charged with criminal conspiracy in the Mumbai attacks, used the immigration firm as cover for his travels to India and Denmark as he scouted for terror targets.

Rana is under investigation for links to the Mumbai strikes that killed 166 people. His First World has offices in Chicago, New York and Toronto.

Federal authorities are working to determine the immigration status of people who entered the US with the help of First World to ensure they do not pose any threat.

As part of a widening probe into the international terror plot, US authorities are also sharpening their sights on the firm in search of possible acts of immigration fraud.

However, Rana's lawyer Patrick Blegen has said in a new motion filed in a Chicago court that as a result of FBI raids on Rana's businesses and his detention, his businesses have effectively been shut down and are worth nowhere near what they were previously estimated.

According to court filings, Rana allegedly conspired to bring foreigners to the US under false pretences. In e-mail conversations, Rana advised an alleged member of Lashkar-e-Tayiba about "loopholes" to get individuals into the US.

"Whenever you find easy way to come to US, immediately think there is a catch to it," Rana allegedly wrote in an e-mail, warning against using student visas.

In another message, Rana allegedly suggested that one individual be brought in under a false occupation. "Make him a cook," the e-mail said.