The US state department and Immigration & Customs Enforcement continue to aggressively target international students with visa revocations, termination of their legal status, and removal. With Indians constituting the largest cohort of international students, it isn’t surprising that the majority of those impacted are from India.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association collected 327 reports of visa revocations and SEVIS terminations from attorneys, students, and university employees and found that 50% of these international students were from India, followed by 14% from China.
Other significant countries represented in this data include South Korea, Nepal, and Bangladesh.“These reports paint aconcerning picture of the arbitrary nature of these visa revocations and terminations,” it states in its policy brief.
As per an Open Doors Report for the academic year 2023-24, India sent over 3.3 lakh students to pursue higher education in the US — an increase of 23% over the previous year. China was the second leading place of origin with almost 2.8 lakh students —this was a slight decline of 4% over the previous year. Anecdotal evidence shows that the number of Indian students aspiring to study in US is dipping sharply.
However, even as the crackdown on international students continues, several hundred students have filed lawsuits in US district courts challenging arbitrary termination of their legal status. Several courts have also granted ‘temporary restraining orders’, enabling students to continue their study in US.
Referring to AILA’s policy brief, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh posted on X: “A press statement issued yesterday by the American Immigration Lawyers Association is cause for concern to us in India. Out of the 327 visa revocation cases of international students collected by the organisation so far, 50% are Indians. The reasons for revocation are random and unclear. There is growing fear and apprehension. Will the external affairs minister take note and raise the concern with his US counterpart?” He also tagged foreign minister S Jaishankar.
“We are aware that several Indian students have received communication from the American govt regarding their F-1 visa status, which happens to be the student visa. We are looking into the matter. Our embassy and consulates are in touch with the students to provide support,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly press briefing.
International students on completion of their studies are allowed to gain work experience under the optional practical training program for a year — this is further extended by two years from students hailing from the science, technology, engineering and mathematics field. According to the Open Doors Report, over 97,000 students undergoing OPT post completion of their studies were from India, whereas Chinese students pursuing OPT stood at around 61,000.
AILA’s policy brief points out that 50% of the impacted students were on OPT. “These individuals are unable to work immediately upon the termination of their SEVIS record. The road to reinstating status for those who have already graduated and are employed on OPT is much more difficult and murkier than those who are currently students,” it stated.
The grounds on which action was taken against international students were arbitrary. In some cases international students found their SEVIS records were terminated and/or visas revoked owing to a criminal record — and they did not have a history of interaction with police and there was nothing in their record that would prompt a visa revocation.
Students who encountered police for infractions are instances which most US citizens would consider a daily occurrence. These included not wearing a seatbelt, tickets for illegal parking, or speeding tickets and did not warrant visa revocation and/or SEVIS termination, states AILA.
There was no uniformity in the issue of notices of SEVIS termination. There were many cases where there was a delay between the SEVIS termination and when the student was informed. This is risky because if students kept working without knowing their SEVIS was terminated, it could affect their immigration status, states AILA’s policy brief.
