50% of students who faced visa revocation were Indians: US lawyers' body

Students' visa revocations seem random and unclear, triggering fear, pointed out Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh, urging the External Affairs Minister to take up the issue with his US counterpart

In light of growing instances of US visa cancellations of Indian students, the Congress on Friday (April 18) demanded an answer on what the government was doing for students.

 

Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh highlighted the ‘cause for concern’ for India referring to a press statement from the American Lawyers Immigration Association, which claims that out of the 327 international student visa revocation cases documented by the organisation so far, half involve Indian nationals.

 

“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 @DrSJaishankar?” Ramesh asked on social media platform X, tagging External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

 

 

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… pic.twitter.com/dZfKJdiirR

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 18, 2025

During its second term, the Trump administration revoked the visas of numerous international students, citing reasons ranging from traffic violations to participation in protests. However, many students faced visa revocations without any history of such acts.

 

“The Department of State (DOS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are aggressively targeting international students, including those without a history of protest, for visa revocation, termination of their status, and removal,” the statement by American Lawyers Immigration Association (AILA) mentions. 

 

Notably, visa revocations have been impacting the students significantly, as they spend substantial money to pursue education there in the US, with some fearing the separation from their families.

 

“These individuals are unable to work immediately upon the termination of their SEVIS [Student and Exchange Visitor Information System] records. The road to reinstating status for those who have already graduated and are employed on OPT is much more difficult and murkier than for those who are currently students,” AILA said

 

The Trump administration has not publicly stated its rationale for the ICE termination of SEVIS records, but many report having had some interactions with police. There is some speculation that artificial intelligence (AI) is involved in the ICE termination process as well, targeting students with arrest records,” AILA further mentioned in its statement. 

 

What is SEVIS?  

 

SEVIS is a database run by the US government’s Department of Homeland Security. It keeps track of international students who are in the US on F or M student visas.  

 

If a student's SEVIS record is “terminated,” it means they are no longer officially a student under US immigration rules. When this happens, they lose permission to work, they can not return to the US using that visa, and immigration officers may check to see if the student has left the country.