Deported over a speeding ticket? Dozens of US students' visas abruptly revoked

The Guardian

07-04-2025

Lisa was eating takeout at a friend's place when the email from her university landed. She clicked into her inbox and skimmed the message:
'ISS [International Student Services] is writing to inform you that your SEVIS record was terminated…'
The wording felt unfamiliar. She read it again, but it still sounded like a scam – absurd and unreal.
Lisa is an international student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, just one month away from graduation. She asked to use a pseudonym due to concerns about retaliation and an ongoing legal case.
Before going to bed, she found someone posted a similar notice on social media. It was through these posts that Lisa understood what the email had actually meant: with her Student and Exchange Visitor Information System record terminated, she was now considered out of status in the US. Staying could mean violating immigration laws.
The Department of Homeland Security maintains the Sevis database that tracks international students and scholars on F, M and J visas. Once a Svis record is terminated, a student's legal status becomes immediately invalid. They must either leave the US within the grace period, typically 15 days, or take steps to restore their status. Otherwise, they risk deportation and future visa restrictions.
She dug through comment sections. Joined group chats. Searched for patterns. One emerged: most of the affected students had been fingerprinted. Some had been cited for non-criminal offenses, but the messages they received said they had criminal records.
That's when she remembered: a year ago, she was driving home when she got two speeding tickets: one for speeding and another for failing to stop. She hadn't seen the police car behind her until it was too late. To get the charges dismissed, she showed up in court, where she was fingerprinted.
Lisa is one of several students across states who found their legal status revoked by the US government on 4 April, without prior notice or clear explanation. University statements show that at least 39 students have been affected, including UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego, Stanford, Ohio State, the University of Tennessee, the University of Kentucky, Minnesota State University and the University of Oregon.
An online self-reported data sheet created by affected students suggests the issue may be more widespread. Students from 50 universities reported their visas were canceled around 4 April, with many noting that they had prior records, some limited to citations or non-criminal offenses.
This secret wave of revocation came a few days after US secretary of state Marco Rubio announced the revocation of 300 or more student visas. 'We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas,' he said at a news conference on 27 March, referring to students he described as national security threats.
Lisa's university had included a screenshot of her Sevis record in the message. Termination was logged on 4 April by a system administrator, with a note: 'Individual identified in criminal records check and/or has had their VISA revoked.'
Shenqi Cai, a California immigration attorney and managing attorney at Lashine Law, said she got the first call from a student on 3 April. 'At the time, we thought it was a one-off. It seemed strange.'
But by Friday, more cases kept coming in. She contacted designated school officials at several partner universities and confirmed that the terminations were visible in the Sevis system.
Cai said this round of Sevis terminations appeared to be unprecedented. 'Students weren't given any chance to explain their situation. As long as the system flagged them, what we believe is a kind of criminal screening trigger, they were terminated under one broad directive.'
Based on the information collected so far, Cai said around 90% of the affected students had been fingerprinted. But she explained that the criteria used to flag students can vary by state. 'Each state defines these triggers differently. The thresholds are inconsistent. A student may be arrested in one state, but that doesn't mean they'll be convicted, because the power to decide guilt or innocence lies with the judge.'
David, a Chinese student who completed his undergraduate degree, was immediately unable to continue working. He requested a pseudonym due to fears of retaliation and an ongoing legal case.
In 2024, David was reported to police after a verbal argument with his partner. When officers arrived, they were still arguing, but there was no physical contact, he said. Because of a language barrier, his partner couldn't clearly explain what had happened. David was detained overnight and later ordered to appear in court.
'My partner wrote a statement to the prosecutor explaining it wasn't domestic violence,' he said. The charge was eventually dropped. Court records show the case was dismissed with prejudice, and the judge ordered the arrest record and biometric data to be destroyed.
Three years later, David received a Sevis termination notice.
Unlike enrolled F-1 students, David is working under Optional Practical Training, a work authorization linked to the Sevis system. Once a Sevis record is terminated, that authorization ends and is nearly impossible to recover.
David was nearing the end of his first year of employment when he got the notice on Friday. He scheduled a lunch meeting with his manager, who said the company would try to help him relocate to Canada. But because the termination took effect immediately, he was subjected to the 15-day departure rule.
'I told my family, and they felt just as powerless,' he said. 'But we don't come from wealth, and there's not a lot they can do.'
Bill is facing the same dilemma. He graduated in December 2024 and is currently job-hunting. He asked not to use his real name due to a pending case.
In early 2025, Bill hit another car while making a turn. At the time, his driver's license had just expired. Police cited him for driving with an expired license. After renewing it, he followed the instructions and appeared in court.
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'I went with a temporary license. The court staff were friendly,' he said. 'One even joked, 'this is no big deal, handsome,' while taking my fingerprints and photos. It felt like a scene out of a movie.'
His initial appearance only involved ID verification. When he asked if the hearing could be held that day, a staff member told him it was scheduled for May and suggested he come back then.
'I thought it was fine. My license was updated, I just had to show up again.' But on 3 April, he suddenly received a notice from the school that his Sevis record had been terminated.
Now, Bill has no idea what to do. Legally, he should leave the country immediately, but his case is still open and he's required to appear in court in May. He doesn't know whether showing up would put him at risk of detention.
On 4 April, he met with his university's international office. Staff there were willing to help, he said, but had few tools. They asked him to write a personal statement, which they promised to pass along to university leadership. The only formal support offered was a referral to a discounted lawyer – $150 an hour.
'The dust of history falls on me, and it becomes a mountain. That's all there is to it,' he said.
By Sunday evening, the panic had spread. Three hundred students joined a Zoom info session hosted by Brad Banias, a federal court immigration litigator and former justice department trial attorney. Questions poured into the chat box: 'Should we leave our apartments right now in case ICE shows up?' 'Will an unpaid parking ticket be a problem?'
Banias called the terminations a political move, not a legal one. 'It makes me angry to see 19-year-olds just trying to study, and suddenly a parking ticket they didn't even know about shows up on a criminal background check,' he said. 'Don't let them convince you it's reasonable to leave the country over a parking ticket.'
For Lisa, the future was just starting to take shape. She is about to graduate in one month, with a job offer and grad school acceptance. But now, she said she wasn't even sure if she should go to class on Monday.
Back in April 2024, she was pulled over in Madison for speeding. She hadn't noticed the patrol car behind her right away, and by the time she stopped, two officers approached. One told her not to worry – it was her first offense, and all she needed to do was pay the fine. But the other issued two citations: one for speeding, the other for failing to stop.
They told her it was just a miscommunication, something she could clear up in court.
But that never really happened.
'My first court date was just for ID,' she said. 'They fingerprinted me, took a photo, measured my height. The judge barely said anything. No hearing, just a new court date.'
She asked if the case could be resolved sooner and was told to schedule an online meeting. She did. During that meeting, the case was dropped. No record. They asked if she accepted. She said yes.
Everything after that went smoothly: her work visa was approved, the company background checks cleared, and she had no trouble leaving and re-entering the country. She thought it was behind her.
Then the email came.
'I don't know if I'm still allowed to graduate,' she said. 'If I don't get my degree, does the grad school still take me? Does the company push back the offer? Worst case, I don't graduate. I go home and start college again. Four more years. And then what?'