Visas of student, alumni terminated and then reversed

The Trump administration’s efforts targeting immigration across the country, including on college campuses, left the visa status of one UVA international student and two recent alumni in limbo this spring.

In early April, the three visas were terminated. The alumni were participating in a federal program that allows for temporary employment in a student’s field of study before or after graduation. They were among the more than 1,800 noncitizen students or recent graduates from more than 280 higher education institutions whose legal status had been altered by the U.S. State Department, according to an Inside Higher Ed analysis.

But on April 25, amid legal challenges, the Trump administration reversed its student visa revocations. According to The New York Times, a Justice Department lawyer informed a federal judge that the government was developing a new way to manage the review and termination of international student records in the United States. Until new procedures are put in place, students’ legal status would be reinstated.

That day, the visa status of the current student and one of the alumni was restored to active in a federal database where the U.S. Department of Homeland Security maintains information about international students, Bethanie Glover, deputy spokesperson for UVA, said in an emailed statement. The status of the second alum has since been restored as well, she said in a follow-up message.

UVA does not know the reason for the revoked visas, Glover said. She also wrote that UVA has been in contact with the three individuals to offer support. She shared no further details, including the names of the students or where they are from.

Students and faculty across the country “have had their visas and immigration status cancelled or been detained and threatened with deportation on the basis of past legal infractions, including minor offenses, and activities that the federal government believes undermine U.S. foreign policy, including participating in protests, writing opinion pieces, posting on social media, and other expressive activities,” states a UVA webpage related to recent federal changes. Some prominent cases have involved students who have taken part in pro-Palestinian protests.

This year, more than 2,500 international students are attending UVA, and about two-thirds are graduate students, according to UVA Institutional Research and Analytics. They make up nearly 20 percent of UVA’s graduate student body.