A new report by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has raised concerns over the increasing number of visa cancellations affecting international students in the United States. Indian students are particularly impacted, making up nearly 50% of the reported cases.
AILA’s policy brief from April 17 states that reports from students, lawyers, and university employees totaled 327 cases involving closed SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) records or revoked visas. Of these, 14% were from China, and nearly half were from India. Bangladesh, Nepal, and South Korea are among the other nations impacted.
According to the brief, students enrolled in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program are having the biggest problems because they are unable to resume employment right away due to a terminated SEVIS record. Compared to students who are still enrolled, graduates find it particularly challenging to regain their position.
Concerns have been raised by the cancellations’ causes. Numerous students were tagged following minor run-ins with the law, like tiny speeding citations or parking penalties. The majority of the time, the students’ charges were dropped and they were not charged. Just two of the cases that were documented had anything to do with political activism.
With 3.32 lakh students in the 2023–24 school year, India now has the most international students in the US. Nearly 97,556 of them are enrolled in the OPT program, which permits temporary employment of foreign graduates in the United States.
Texas revocations
Meanwhile, in a broad action that involved deletions from a federal immigration database, at least 118 foreign students at Texas institutions had their legal status changed last week. According to the Texas Tribune, the impacted students were recently notified that their immigration status was listed as terminated in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) or that their visas had been canceled.
The students now have few options as a result of these developments, and the removal from SEVIS, which instantly affects their legal status, has a significant impact. SEVIS removals have immediate and serious repercussions, such as the loss of employment eligibility and difficulties for dependents including spouses and children, in contrast to visa revocations, which prohibit re-entry but do not instantly terminate a student’s status.
