Over 1,700 international students across the U.S. have had their visa status changed.
11 University of Minnesota Students have had their Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, status terminated as of April 18 with no clear reason why.
This change has greatly impacted the International Student and Scholars Service, or ISSS, at the University, according to Associate Director of Student Advising and Counseling of ISSS Kathryn Gaylord-Miles.
“This is the first time that we’ve seen the federal government changing student records in this way, so there really is no past precedent,” Gaylord-Miles said.
The visa process is complicated, and the ISSS staff is working to help students navigate what is going on and provide resources, Gaylord-Miles said.
“It’s not really clear why student records are being terminated, and so we are getting questions from students about what can I do to prevent that?” Gaylord-Miles said. “And that’s a really hard advising question because we don’t know what’s driving these.”
The University is working to provide personalized support to individuals regarding the visa process and international travel, University spokesperson Andria Waclawski said in a statement emailed to the Minnesota Daily.
“The University of Minnesota remains fully committed to supporting all members of our University community affected by immigration policies, and our leaders are closely tracking any potential changes to federal policies, laws, and other requirements,” Waclawski said in the statement.
What the law says
It is important to understand the difference between a visa being revoked and SEVIS termination, according to Sarah Peterson, an immigration attorney and adjunct professor at the UMN Law School.
A visa is a sticker in a passport that allows someone to board a flight or travel. If just the visa is revoked, that does not impact legal status, Peterson said.
However, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can begin the process to deport someone who has gotten their visa revoked, Peterson said.
SEVIS termination does directly impact a student’s immigration status, Peterson said. SEVIS is a government database that keeps track of international students and was historically used mainly by universities to terminate legal status in very specific circumstances.
“What’s new is that ICE has recently started terminating SEVIS records without notifying schools or students,” Peterson said. “This is highly unusual and could have serious implications for students’ legal status.”
According to Peterson, visa revocations used to be rare in the U.S., typically only driven by serious issues like security threats or criminal activity.
“Now, ICE appears to be terminating SEVIS records without explanation or communication. Universities are learning about the terminations only after the fact, usually when students are impacted,” Peterson said. “This is a significant departure from past practice.”
This is a developing legal issue, Peterson said. 19 attorneys general have asked a federal judge to block student visa cancellations.
According to Peterson, visa revocations are hard to fight because the Supreme Court held they do not have judicial review, which is the ability for a court to deem an action by the government as unconstitutional.
What students can do
The ISSS is monitoring the database of international students on campus to check students’ visa status, Gaylord-Miles said.
“When we do notice that a student’s record has been terminated, we are reaching out to the student to let them know about what’s happened, and we’re reaching out to them with some resources to get them connected,” Gaylord-Miles said.
ISSS has been able to notify students within a few hours of their visa status change in most cases, according to Gaylord-Miles. She said the students are then connected with Student Legal Services, who is working closely with our impacted students to help them understand what their next options might be.
Student Legal Services has a “Know Your Rights” guide with information about rights regarding immigration and ICE.
In addition to going through the international student database, ISSS is hosting different information sessions to keep students informed, Assistant Vice Provost and Director of ISSS Barbara Kappler said.
“We’ve curated additional information to be shared on the website, where we are posting specific tips and information in regards to changes in immigration at this time,” Kappler said. “The staff is working really hard to stay up to date and to be responding to the understandably complicated questions that people are bringing forward.”
Kappler said it is also important to come together as a community to support international students.
“We recognize, and want to make sure the university community understands, the termination of the SEVIS records are upending the lives of the students and certainly causing great concern in the international community,” Kappler said.
