Indian and Chinese nationals top list of student visa revocations

By Randall Yip, Executive Editor

(This story is done in partnership with the URL Collective)

More students from India than from any other country have had their student visas revoked, according to a survey from the American Immigrant Lawyers Association.

The survey of revocations of 327 student visas and removal from Homeland Security databases found 50% were from India with China being the second highest at 14% followed by South Korea, Nepal and Bangladesh.

The revocations reported in the survey are all self-reported by immigration students or their attorneys. However, the 327 cases reported are significant, representing more than 5% of the reported 1400 student revocations and 4736 removals from the SEVIS system (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) operated by Homeland Security.

“If their visa is revoked and they get noticed from either the government or their university, they should document any communication that they receive from either source,” said Amy Grenier, Associate Director of Government Relations with the American Immigrant Lawyers Association.

After that, she recommends that they contact an immigration attorney.

She says anyone who has had their visas revoked may not be able to reenter the country if they visit home or make a trip outside the United Stats. She says it also means you could be deported, but not necessarily.

The potential consequences of being removed from the SEVIS system is unclear, according to Grenier.

“The situation is going to be different for each person. An attorney is going to want to look at like what the reasoning was for the SEVIS record being terminated. They’re going to want to look at any sort of criminal record if there is one. They’re going to want to review their immigration history. There isn’t really a blanket answer to give folks,” she said.

It’s also unclear, according to the legal experts we talked with, as to why Indian nationals are seeing their immigration status change as such a high rate.

India just recently overtook China as the number one source of international students in the U.S., yet India dominates the list 50 – 14%.

“I don’t have any reason to believe at this point that it’s necessarily specifically racially motivated,” said Tejas Shah, president of the charitable arm of the South Asian Bar Association of North America. “So it’s a mystery.”

He recommends those facing the situation arm themselves with information. Shah says some have chosen to self-deport. He strongly suggests such a decision should not be made without first getting all the relevant information.

“Students have not been given an opportunity to properly challenge the grounds for the provocations, right? I mean, we are seeing a bunch of students file suits in federal court because that’s really one of the few effective vehicles that they’ve had to try to challenge these revocations.”

Besides legal representation, he encourages those needing help contact their embassies.