Kathmandu, Oct. 12 -- On February 5, 2021, Tejina Lamsal of Tulsipur in Dang went to her neighbour Gajendra Budhathoki's house with Rs500,000 cash. Budhathoki had promised to arrange documents and send her to the United States. The process, he told her, would cost Rs4.5 million. Lamsal handed over an advance payment.

Lamsal was subsequently asked to travel to Sauraha in Chitwan for an interview. When she arrived, Budhathoki was waiting outside while two people dressed as government employees sat inside. A vehicle bearing a government registration number was parked outside. Lamsal was photographed, asked to fill in a form and fingerprinted. She was entered on a fake refugee list under the fictional name Sharada Chaulagain.

According to h...