F-1 Nightmare

International students are facing a cruel attack against them as the US government has terminated thousands of F-1 visas through their federal database SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System).

Some new details have come out that confirmed the worst fear within the community. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is allegedly using a system that doesn’t wait for court decisions.

Also Read – H-1B Visa Errors That Can Risk Status

A court filing revealed this shocking truth, claims a social media user. The US government admitted it “cannot always determine the disposition of a criminal arrest.”

In simple words, they don’t know if the student was convicted, released, or found innocent after an arrest. But SEVIS status is still getting terminated on the basis of false charges.

Also Read – Green Card Not Approved, H-1B Almost Over

This flawed process comes from a unit called the Counter Threat Lead Development Unit (CTLD). It’s part of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and reviews millions of records each year.

CTLD mainly looks at raw data from SEVIS and CBP systems, like arrests, tickets, and fingerprints— but that data often lacks the final result of a case.

Also Read – H-1B Stats 2026: Reality Behind Drop in Numbers

This is why Students who are completely innocent are getting caught in this system. They’re losing legal status, education, and job opportunities overnight.

This isn’t law enforcement, it’s a system that punishes people before the facts are even clear. And international students, especially the 330,000 Indians in the US are living in panic because of this.




Many people even decided to leave the country on their own. However, some F-1 students are still fighting the legal battle to just survive in the US.