I went to a Marianist university in the US. This was right after 9/11 when it had suddenly become a lot harder for international students to come in. I had no problems.

Why? Because I also went to a Marianist high school in Italy, and it so happens that the principal of that school had in the meantime (I worked for a few years between high school and university) become procurator-general for the Marianists in Rome. He was also my Latin teacher.

So he basically told the president of the university "This person is a good student, got 99% on their maturity exam, let them in, tell your USCIS liaison to sort it out". I was given a provisional visa, took the SAT, got a nearly perfect score, and they let me in. For whatever reason, I always got enhanced screening and questioning whenever I got on an airplane or went through US customs, after that, until I got my green card, but they let me in.

Was this abuse of power? Not being sarcastic or rhetorical; I'm asking if what my principal did at the time was an abuse of power/authority.