Colleges around the US say some international students' visas are being
revoked
[April 08, 2025]
By ANNIE MA
WASHINGTON (AP) — Colleges around the country are reporting some of
their international students' visas are being revoked unexpectedly,
expressing alarm over what appears to be a new level of government
scrutiny.
Visas can be canceled for a number of reasons, but college leaders say
the government has been quietly terminating students' legal residency
status with little notice to students or schools. That marks a shift
from past practice and leaves students vulnerable to detention and
deportation.
The list of colleges that have discovered students have had their legal
status terminated includes Harvard, Stanford, Michigan, UCLA and Ohio
State University.
The Trump administration has targeted students who had been involved
with pro-Palestinian activism or speech, with a few high-profile
detentions of students including Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who
was a leader of protests at Columbia University.
But more schools are seeing visas stripped from students with no known
connection to protests. In some cases, past infractions such as traffic
violations have been cited. Some colleges say the reasons remain unclear
to them — and they are seeking answers.
“What you’re seeing happening with international students is really a
piece of the much greater scrutiny that the Trump administration is
bringing to bear on immigrants of all different categories,” said
Michelle Mittelstadt, director of public affairs at the Migration Policy
Institute.
Many college officials and students have only found out about the
changes when they have checked a federal database and seen changes to an
individual’s immigration status.
How do student visas work?
Students in other countries must meet a series of requirements to obtain
a student visa, usually an F-1. After gaining admission to a school in
the U.S., students go through an application and interview process at a
U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.
Students on an F-1 visa must show they have enough financial support for
their course of study in the U.S. They have to remain in good standing
with their academic program and are generally limited in their ability
to work off-campus during their academic program.
Entry visas are managed by the State Department. Once they're in the
U.S., international students’ legal status is overseen by the Student
and Exchange Visitor Program under the Department of Homeland Security.
Leaders at many colleges learned the legal status of some of their
international students had been terminated when they checked a database
managed by Homeland Security. In the past, college officials say, visas
typically were revoked after schools updated the government when
students fell out of status.
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Students walk on the Stanford University campus, March 14, 2019, in
Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)
After losing legal residency, students are told to leave the
country
Historically, students who had their visas revoked were allowed to
keep their legal residency status and complete their studies.
The lack of a valid visa only limited their ability to leave the
U.S. and return, something they could reapply for with the State
Department. But if a student has lost residency status, they must
leave immediately or risk detention by immigration authorities.
Higher education leaders worry the arrests and revocations could
have a chilling effect on international education in the United
States.
The lack of clarity of what is leading to revocations can create a
sense of fear among students, said Sarah Spreitzer, vice president
of government relations at the American Council on Education.
“The very public actions that are being taken by ICE and the
Department of Homeland Security around some of these students, where
they are removing these students from their homes or from their
streets, that’s not usually done unless there is a security issue
when a student visa is revoked,” she said. “The threat of this very
quick removal is something that’s new.”
Colleges are trying to reassure students
In messages to their campuses, colleges have said they are asking
the federal government for answers on what led to the terminations.
Others have re-emphasized travel precautions to students,
recommending they carry their passport and other immigration
documents with them.
College leaders spoke of a growing sense of uncertainty and anxiety.
“These are unprecedented times, and our normal guiding principles
for living in a democratic society are being challenged,” University
of Massachusetts Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco wrote in an
email. “With the rate and depth of changes occurring, we must be
thoughtful in how we best prepare, protect, and respond.”
Suárez-Orozco said the legal residency status had been canceled for
two students and “five other members of our university community
including recent graduates participating in training programs.”
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