Student Says He Falsified His Immigration Status

A college student from Pakistan held for questioning after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court Thursday to making a false statement about his immigration status when he applied for a job at an Orange County electronics store.

Salman Hyder, 19, of Fountain Valley faces up to six months in custody when he is sentenced March 25.

Hyder entered the United States in 2000, enrolling at Irvine Valley College under a student visa that bars him from working without consent from the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Last month, an INS administrative law judge gave him permission to leave the country after finding that he violated terms of his visa. But before Hyder was freed, he was arrested by federal authorities on criminal charges.