Back in April this year, according to a policy brief released by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), nearly half of all international students in the United States who experienced visa revocations or terminations of their SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) records in recent months were from India.
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Citing data collected from 327 individual reports, AILA found that 50% of the affected students were Indian nationals, followed by 14% from China. Other impacted countries included South Korea, Nepal, and Bangladesh.According to the policy brief, the visa crackdowns appear to be part of a new initiative by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), dubbed “Catch and Revoke,” which reportedly uses AI tools to screen social media profiles of student visa holders.
Indians made up the largest group of international students in the United States during the 2023-24 academic year, according to Open Doors data. Out of a total of 11,26,690 international students, 3,31,602 were from India — accounting for 29% of the total. China followed with 2.77 lakh students.
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According to a verified source cited in the brief, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has terminated 4,736 SEVIS records since January 20, 2025, with most belonging to students on F-1 visas.
Alarmingly, 57% of students received notice of visa revocation—primarily via email from the consulates—but 83% only learned about SEVIS termination through their universities, and 7% said they received no notification at all.
First Published: Aug 18, 2025 9:56 PM IS
