How the Donald Trump administration cutting Harvard's access to a government database has made 6,800 international students deportable immediately, unless …

Time of India

24-05-2025

donald trump
President Donald Trump's administration is trying to strip Harvard of its ability to enroll
international students
— an effort blocked by a federal judge on Friday (May 23), just hours after the university filed a lawsuit claiming it to be a violation of its
First Amendment rights
. The temporary restraining order stops the government from pulling Harvard's certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. 'With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard's student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission,' Harvard said in its suit. 'Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.' The ruling from the US District Judge Allison Burroughs puts the sanction against Harvard on hold for now, pending the lawsuit.
What makes government database SEVIS all important for student visas
The government database SEVIS is crucial for managing and tracking the enrollment of international students studying in the United States. For colleges and universities across America, SEVIS serves as a central system administered by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency within DHS. To enroll international students, institutions must be certified to use this database. They are required to input and maintain data within SEVIS for each international student, confirming their full-time enrollment and adherence to the terms of their student visas.
Impact of SEVIS revocation on international students
Homeland Security's immediate revocation of Harvard's SEVIS certification has potentially severe consequences for the university's nearly 6,800 international students. While their visas have not been canceled, Harvard's inability to log them into the
SEVIS database
could, in theory, render these students immediately deportable. Without Harvard's active SEVIS enrollment records, the students would be considered in violation of their visa status.
The immediate recourse for these students would be to transfer to another SEVIS-certified institution. Failure to take such action and enroll elsewhere would place them in violation of their visa terms, making them subject to removal from the United States.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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Typically, international students are granted a 60-day grace period after graduating to either depart the country or adjust their immigration status, often by securing employment. Furthermore, students returning to their programs are usually permitted to remain in the U.S. during summer breaks as long as they are still enrolled for the upcoming academic term. However, with the termination of Harvard's SEVIS access, the status of students who would normally be eligible for this summer grace period remains uncertain.