WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A Bangladesh man arrested for alleged plot to bomb the Federal Reserve bank in New York City entered the United States with a student visa issued in December, a State Department official confirmed on Thursday.
"Let me start by confirming that the suspect did have a student visa to attend a legitimate academic program in the United States for which he was qualified," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland at a regular briefing.
"Visa decisions are made in accordance with applicable law and department regulations," she told reporters, adding that each application is looked at by case basis, taking into account "all of the information contained in the U.S. government databases."
Quazi Mohammad Rezwanual Ahsan Nafis, 21, was arrested Wednesday in a sting operation by U.S. federal authorities for alleged plot to bomb the Federal Reserve bank in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
He was captured while trying to detonate what he believed to be a 1,000-pound bomb in front of the Fed building on Liberty Street. The fake bomb was provided to him by an undercover agent.
Nafis arrived in the United States in January. He had tried to recruit people in the U.S. to help him conduct the terror attack.
Nafis appeared at a federal court in Brooklyn Wednesday to face charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al-Qaeda. He was ordered held without bail.
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