Finally, there’s good news for international students studying in the US. Amidst reckless visa cancellations, it is known that some students had approached the courts.
The Court has revived SEVIS (Student Exchange Visitor Information System) for 133 international students whose visas have been revoked. The students approached courts after the government cancelled visas and terminated SEVIS.
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However, the government agencies have a different version. They say that these students were under the radar of law enforcement agencies. They maintain that the measures were taken to stop them temporarily. But the students don’t have any criminal background.
The immigration lawyers say the government directive is wrong. Though the students didn’t commit any big crimes, the legal status of their visas was revoked, they say.
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The American foreign secretary had taken up the process under ‘Catch and Revoke’ programme. The student details are gathered using AI tools. Even their social media accounts are scanned.
Under the programme, 300 student visas have been revoked. The students are mostly from India, Nepal, South Korea, China and Bangladesh.
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Many are in the US for optional practical training. They can work temporarily with it. It is applicable to STEM graduates and they use it to get H1-B work visas. If they lose the OPT status, their future remains questionable in the US.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association says that the government is revoking visas for small issues like speeding. One visa was revoked as the person had a case of domestic violence.
In the latest 327 revoked visas, only two were involved in minor political issues, they said. They said that there were no proper guidelines to revoke visas for the US foreign department.
