On Friday, April 11, according to court documents, lawyer statements, and announcements from universities across the United States, it has been reported by the Cable News Network (CNN) that the U.S. government has revoked the visas of 529 students, faculty, and researchers from 88 universities.
The U.S. State Department is currently revoking records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) without informing most universities or students that their visas have been canceled.
It is reported that universities often struggle to track visa cases or provide support for students. Universities need to use query systems to discover canceled visas.
Sometimes, students only become aware of the visa cancellation after receiving an email notification from the State Department.
Once a student’s visa is revoked by the State Department, the student must leave the U.S. and reapply for a visa after reassessment. However, some students are temporarily retaining their valid status through litigation.
Xiaotian Liu, a Ph.D. student from Dartmouth College in China, had his F-1 student visa revoked by the U.S. government on April 4. On Wednesday, April 9, a federal court in New Hampshire temporarily reinstated Xiaotian Liu’s student visa.
CNN has reported that some students have no criminal records, while others may only have minor offenses. In the past, these minor offenses typically did not lead to deportation. The list of students whose visas have been revoked has not yet been disclosed by universities.
This week, reports of visa revocations have spread from elite universities like Stanford, Harvard, and Columbia to higher education institutions in various states, involving students from different nationalities.
However, unlike the cases of foreign students being deported in February and March related to protests in support of Palestine, the government has not detained students or university staff whose visas have been revoked.
On Friday, a U.S. immigration judge ruled that Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian student at Columbia University, can be deported by the government.
Khalil was arrested on March 8 in an apartment building in New York City belonging to Columbia University and was transferred to a prison in Louisiana.
However, Khalil will not be immediately deported. His lawyers have indicated that they will appeal the judge’s ruling.
This is the first high-profile case of foreign students supporting protests being expelled by the United States administration.
The Secretary of State previously stated that he would use legal means to deport foreign students studying in the U.S. who support designated terrorist organizations.
He emphasized that visas for foreign students in the U.S. are intended for educational purposes, not for disruptive “activism” on campuses.