(Bloomberg) -- A Chinese researcher in U.S. custody on charges of visa fraud made her initial appearance in federal court in Sacramento, California.Juan Tang appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Barnes and was ordered to be held until an Aug. 10 hearing at which she may seek release on bail.

Tang took shelter at the Chinese consulate in San Francisco after federal agents interviewed her at the University of California at Davis about allegedly lying about her military service. Officials haven’t explained how she came to be in federal custody last week. The Chinese Foreign Ministry called her case a “political persecution.”The case is U.S. v. Tang, 20-mj-00056, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California (Sacramento).

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(Updates with Aug. 10 hearing in second paragraph.)

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