US Embassy issues visa warning after Indian woman caught shoplifting

New Delhi: The US Embassy in India warned visa aspirants that committing assault, theft, or burglary in the United States could lead to revoking of visa.

The warning comes after an Indian woman was picked for stealing items at a Target store in Illinois, NDTV reported.

Urging foreign visitors to follow law and order, the embassy cautioned that the robbery could prevent an individual from re-entering the US being ineligible for future visa consideration.

Taking to X, the US Embassy wrote: ‘Committing assault, theft, or burglary in the United States won't just cause you legal issues - it could lead to your visa being revoked and make you ineligible for future US visas. The United States values law and order and expects foreign visitors to follow all US laws.’

The official website for US federal legislative information ‘congress.gov’ stated that stealing property violating numerous state laws may also ‘run afoul of federal criminal law.’

The incident that led to issue the warning was reported on May 1at a Target store where this woman spent over seven hours picking up items worth $1,300 (Rs 1.1 lakh) before leaving without paying. The woman went viral after an employee at the Target confronted her.

The caption of the video that went viral said: ‘On May 1, 2025, police were called to Target after a woman spent hours inside the store stealing items, ultimately attempting to walk out with thousands of dollars in unpaid merchandise. This is footage of the events that followed.’

The staffer was heard saying: ‘We saw this woman roaming around the store for the last 7 hours. She was picking up items, checking her phone, moving between aisles, and eventually tried to walk out the west gate without paying.’

Though the woman offered to pay for the products she picked up, police handcuffed her, taking her to the police station.

A woman officer reportedly asked her: ‘Are you allowed to steal things in India? I did not think so.’