As the Donald Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on international students, more than 500 students have had their student visas revoked in recent weeks. While some students were stripped of their visas due to their involvement in campus activism, support for Palestine, or simply for liking or sharing social media posts, others faced visa cancellations over minor past criminal offenses, failure to maintain immigration status, or participation in protests deemed “destabilising” by the US.
A report by NAFSA: Association of International Educators compiled data from universities across the country and confirmed that at least 500 student visas have been revoked, reported the Financial Times. Founded in 1948, NAFSA is a community of more than 10,000 international education professionals.
“This is uncharted territory on so many levels. It’s at an unprecedented level, and it’s quite concerning because there is a lack of clarity, which is creating anxiety,” Fanta Aw, chief executive of NAFSA, told the Financial Times.
Student visas cancelled: From Harvard to Stanford
The revocations have affected students across several major US universities. The State Department has cancelled visas for 40 students from Northeastern University, which hosts over 24,000 international students and recent alumni across its ten campuses.
At Harvard, three current students and two recent graduates were abruptly stripped of their student visas. The university learnt of the visa revocations during a “routine rounds review” of their records and stated it has not received specific information about the reasons for the revocations.
Similarly, at Stanford, two recent graduates and four students lost their student visa status, which the university says it became aware of during a routine review of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) database. SEVIS is a system that tracks nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors in the United States.
The University of California reported that seven current students and five recent graduates had their F-1 visas revoked, while the University of Massachusetts Amherst confirmed that five international students had their visas cancelled, resulting in the termination of their student status.
US revokes student visas: Self-deport or face detention
Visa revocations were once rare and usually tied to arrests or serious criminal charges. However, the current wave of cancellations signals a broader, more aggressive policy shift. In many cases, universities were not even informed of the actions taken against their students and are unable to offer legal support or track their cases. Affected students received no prior notice or opportunity to appeal. Instead, they were instructed to self-deport using the recently launched CBP (US Customs and Border Protection) mobile app.
Once a student’s visa – whether F-1 (for academic study), M-1 (for vocational study) and J-1 (exchange program) – is cancelled, uncertainity looms on the head as the individual loses their legal right to stay in America and faces deportation risk to home country, pay fines or spent time at detention centres.
The students are now required to leave the US and reapply for fresh visas, subject to reassessment, as the students face a double whammy – the US Department of State is revoking their visas, and the Homeland Security is terminating their statuses.
Earlier, if the State Department revoked the visa of a student, they were given a breather, and their legal status to remain in the US was not cancelled instantly. This no longer exists.
The crackdown has sent shockwaves through the international academic community. The US is home to over one million international students who contribute approximately $43.8 billion to the American economy and support 370,000 domestic jobs.
Last month, hundreds of international students woke up to the emails telling them that their F-1 visas had been revoked and that they were required to self-deport using the CBP Home App.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in March, said that his AI-powered app “Catch and Revoke” has detected and cancelled student visas of over 300 international students who support terrorist organisations, including Hamas. Rubio warned that there will be more visa revocations in the coming days as the country doesn’t want “lunatics” to stay.
Social media outrage
Several students and politicians have taken to social media to criticise Trump’s crackdown on international students. One individual wrote on Twitter (now X), “Student at my college just got their visa revoked. They were here legally, hadn’t broken a law, hadn’t even participated in protests (not that that gives the right). They were supposed to graduate this term….”
“Student at the University of Florida on a foreign visa studying food and resource economics has been picked up by ICE over a simple traffic violation and is now being held in the hellhole that is Krome Detention Center. He has not been heard from since April 1st,” wrote another.
“Students from all over the world come to Massachusetts to learn. They’re part of our communities and economy, and revoking their visas without notice is completely unacceptable. We’re demanding answers from the Trump Administration. International students are welcome here,” 73rd Governor of Massachusetts Maura Healey wrote, condemning the move.
There are numerous videos of students protesting on campuses across the US against the visa revocations, demanding transparency and justice.