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Time of India
27-05-2025
- Time of India
OPT students face heightened scrutiny by ICE, any lapse in employment data can result in deportation
(AI generated image) International students across the US are facing another unprecedented wave of enforcement, many students who are undergoing post-graduation Optional Practical Training (OPT) are receiving letters from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) threatening termination of their SEVIS records and potential deportation. The core of the issue lies in the reporting of employment status within the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). OPT regulations grant students a maximum of 90 days of unemployment during their twelve-month program. Another 60 days is available to those undertaking the STEM-OPT program for an additional two years. 'The recent ICE letters indicate that an international student's SEVIS record will be terminated if there is no employer information listed on the SEVIS portal. This signifies that the student did not report the OPT job on time or went over the allowed unemployment period, either of which can result in a termination of OPT status and initiation of removal proceedings,' said Snehal Batra, managing attorney at NPZ Law Group. 'This is a pretty big change for F-1 students. In the past, SEVIS did not usually terminate SEVIS records automatically for exceeding 90 days of unemployment. But now, with tighter rules, students could accidentally fall out of status for failure to report,' she added. Immigration attorneys point out that OPT reporting rules require SEVIS to be updated within ten days of any change - be it a new job, new work site location, or loss of employment. A copy of such a letter seen by TOI states, 'Because there is no employer information in your SEVIS record, you are accumulating unemployment days and may have exceeded the permissible period of unemployment. If you have been employed during your OPT time, you must correct your SEVIS record. Please contact your Designated School Official (DSO) or utilize the SEVIS Portal to update your information. Failure to take corrective action may result in the initiation of immigration proceedings to remove you from the United States. " Via this letter, international students are given a strict 15-day deadline from the date of the notice to update their SEVIS records. Failure to do so will result in the termination of their SEVIS record, with its attached consequences such as deportation. The Indian student community in the US is significant in terms of numbers. According to the Open Doors Report (academic year 2022-23), there were 2.70 lakh Indian students in the US, with 69,000 Indian students participating in OPT programs. Thus, several Indian students have at the receiving end of such letters. According to 'NAFSA: Association of International Educators', the wordings of the letter are identical to those issued in 2020 under the Trump-Pence administration. However, according to education and immigration experts, this time there appears to be an uptick in the number of letters that are being issued. 'Traditionally, it's been the school's DSO that tracks SEVIS compliance, but since ICE administers the SEVP, they have been going in and terminating people who have accumulated more than 90 days of unemployment during their OPT,' said Jath Shao, founder of an immigration law firm. 'It is crucial to have employment, paid or unpaid, that is related to the major you graduated from. You must also promptly report your employment or unemployment to your school's DSO. We have seen some cases where DSOs failed to timely update graduates' employment status in SEVIS, but USCIS has reinstated the students' status upon correction of the record,' pointed out Shao. The gravity of the situation has prompted NAFSA: Association of International Educators, to issue a special advisory. It recommends that DSOs should diligently monitor the 'Accrued unemployment days' alerts. This alert identifies students with unemployment days, indicating whether they are employed as of the list's generation date. DSOs have also been urged to proactively follow up with students accumulating high levels of unemployment days and to remind them to update their employment information through the SEVIS Portal or their DSO. Guidance to students: 'If you are nearing the end of the permitted number of unemployment days you have some choices including: leaving US before the end of the permitted number of unemployment days; enrolling in another qualifying education program and continuing in F-1 status, filing an application to change status to another visa category – say B-2 (tourist visa),' said Poovi Chothani, managing partner at LawQuest a Mumbai headquartered immigration firm. Batra added, 'In addition, international students should keep a written record of all OPT employment for their own record, including name of employer, dates of employment, name of supervisor, number of hours worked per week, job title and description. This information will also be helpful to prove maintenance of status when applying for a change of status from F-1 to say an H-1B.'
The Print
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
US embassy warns Indian students: visa may be revoked if you skip, drop out of class
The statement follows an advisory from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on 17 May, which reminded students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) visas that they must report their employment within 90 days of starting the programme. Failure to do so could result in the termination of their status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), ICE had warned. In a post on social platform X, the embassy said, 'If you drop out, skip classes, or leave your program of study without informing your school, your student visa may be revoked, and you may lose eligibility for future U.S. visas. Always adhere to the terms of your visa and maintain your student status to avoid any issues'. New Delhi: The US Embassy in India Tuesday issued an advisory to international students, warning them that dropping out or skipping classes without informing the school can result in the revocation of the student visa, or even make them ineligible for future US visas. It also said that violations of their visa, such as unauthorised leaves or inadequate academic attendance, could lead not only to deportation or loss of OPT eligibility, but could also adversely affect future applications for US visas, including H-1B, L-1, or even green cards. The 2024 Open Doors Report, which tracks international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US, said that for the first time in 15 years, India surpassed China to become the leading source of international students to the country. More than 3.31 lakh Indian students (331,602) were currently studying in the US during the 2023–24 academic year—an all-time high. If you drop out, skip classes, or leave your program of study without informing your school, your student visa may be revoked, and you may lose eligibility for future U.S. visas. Always adhere to the terms of your visa and maintain your student status to avoid any issues. — U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) May 27, 2025 This marked a 23 percent increase from the previous year, when 268,923 Indian students were enrolled in American institutions for the 2022–23 academic session. The latest advisory comes amid a crackdown on immigration by the Donald Trump administration, including invoking a wartime-era Act to deport thousands of immigrants. International students were warned by many of their schools to avoid unnecessary travel outside the US due to potential visa complications. (Edited by Sanya Mathur) Also Read: 'World's coolest dictator' & his steel pit—all about El Salvador prison where Trump's dumping deportees
Mint
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Mint
US Court blocks visa cancellation of 133 students, relief for most Indian nationals — 6 things to know
A US federal judge in Georgia temporarily restored the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records of 133 international students subjected to illegal SEVIS terminations. Here are five things to know about the restoration of SEVIS record — On Friday, the US federal court issued a Temporary Restraining Order asking the Department of Homeland Security restore the SEVIS records of the students. The court also stopped federal authorities from using or revealing personal information of students outside the litigation. The government actions have been called out by attorneys, highlighting that no set rules or regulations are clearly stated in the letters issued to students. The order came after the US Department of State and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) revoked the visas of international students and terminated their SEVIS records, which may have forced the students to be deported. ICE cancelled nearly 4,736 SEVIS records from January 20, 2025, onwards. Of these students, 50% were Indians, according to a survey by the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Along with these students, Chinese, Nepali, South Korean, and Bangladeshi students were also affected. Meanwhile, most of these students held F-1 visas. An F-1 visa is a non-immigrant student visa that permits international students to enter the United States to pursue education in US institutions. The majority of the Indian students were on Optional Practical Training (OPT)in the United States, which is a temporary work authorisation permit given to international students who have graduated, especially for STEM courses. This permit may last for 36 months and acts as a precursor to apply H-1B visa. The visas of many students were cancelled due to minor reasons such as traffic tickets or violations of university regulations, as per the report. One of the students lost their visa status over being mentioned as a victim of domestic violence in a police case. Out of 327 cases, only two instances referred to political activity. First Published: 24 Apr 2025, 10:50 AM IST
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Some Hopkins students, recent grads have visas revoked by federal government
About a dozen Johns Hopkins University graduate students and recent graduates had their visa records terminated by the federal government, the university announced Tuesday. In response, the Baltimore university is providing support to those students through the Office of International Services, such as academic advising and health and wellbeing services, according to the school's website. 'We have received no information about the specific basis for the revocations but we have no indication that they are associated with free expression activities on campus,' the statement reads. 'While visa revocations require students to depart the United States, we are not aware of any arrests or detentions of Johns Hopkins students as a result of these visa actions.' The F-1 visa are being terminated through the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The program is a part of the National Security Investigations Division and helps 'government organizations that have an interest in information on nonimmigrants whose primary reason for coming to the United States is to be students,' according to the division's website. Hopkins is one of a dozen colleges reporting instances of international student records being terminated in the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System, according to the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, which provides information on how immigration policies and practices impact students. On Monday, the University of Wisconsin–Madison announced the terminations of six current students and seven alumni on employment extensions, which means they must depart the United States immediately. The school said in a statement that it wasn't aware of federal law enforcement activity and doesn't believe the actions are related to free speech events or political activity either. 'However, the precise rationale for these terminations is unclear,' UW-Madison said. On Friday, Stanford University announced four students and two recent graduates had their student visas revoked. The University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, Tufts University and Columbia University are also among the other schools the federal government reportedly terminated the visas of students and/or alumni. Hopkins has a longstanding policy of not providing information about its affiliates' immigration statuses unless required by law and not allowing access to college facilities unless mandated by a court order, according to the university. 'Our most important guidance is to contact Johns Hopkins Public Safety if you should encounter immigration enforcement officers on campus,' the university's statement says. 'Public Safety will immediately coordinate with the Office of General Counsel, and is best positioned to handle the situation for the safety and wellbeing of all involved.' This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Todd Karpovich at tkarpovich@ or on X as @ToddKarpovich.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Central Michigan University exchange student records terminated without notice
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS)— The Office of the President for Central Michigan University has issued a statement following the unexpected termination of exchange student records. The office reports that the United States Department of Homeland Security has terminated records of some current and former students from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). The office says neither the university nor the impacted students received any notification of the status changes. Dear students, faculty and staff, This week, during routine reviews of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), CMU staff learned that several current and former international student SEVIS records had been terminated by the United States Department of Homeland Security. Neither the university nor the impacted students had received any notification of the status changes. Based on reports from Inside Higher Education, the Chronicle of Higher Education and numerous news media outlets, we know this revocation is happening to hundreds of international students at colleges and universities nationwide. This news is alarming and may be especially difficult for our international students, faculty and staff, who are valuable, important members of our community. CMU does not have the ability to reverse the government's decision to terminate a student's visa status, nor can the university's Office of General Counsel provide legal guidance or services to individual students, faculty, and staff. This situation is evolving quickly, and we are committed to doing all we can to support our university community. Here's what we are able to share at this time – we will update the community as we learn more. Neil MacKinnon, Ph.D., president and Paula Lancaster, Ph.D., provost, CMU news release CMU is encouraging international students and staff affected by this termination to seek legal counsel. Although CMU cannot recommend specific immigration attorneys, they have shared resources to help those affected do so. The has a list of immigration lawyers on its website. It can be found under the resources tab. CMU students can also contact Legal Services of Eastern Michigan at 1-800-322-9142 or on its . Staff have been asked to direct international students seeking help to legal and emotional resources. The university says there have been no reports of Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection officers on the school's campus. 'To our international students, faculty, and staff: You are welcome here, and we are glad to have you as members of our community. In uncertain times, we rely on our friends, colleagues, and neighbors to help us weather challenges. Thank you in advance for offering compassion and kindness to our students and to each other as we navigate these changes,' said CMU President Neil MacKinnon and CMU Provost Paula Lancaster in a news release sent to 6 News. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
