A doctoral student specializing in artificial intelligence in California has had their SEVIS record terminated, jeopardizing their immigration status. The student, who wished to remain anonymous due to fear of reprisal, communicated to TechCrunch that they were informed through their college’s international student center about being identified in a criminal records check. Despite having been in the United States for nearly a decade starting as an undergraduate student, they maintain that they have no criminal record.
The student speculates that the issue may stem from an interaction with the police from years ago, prior to commencing graduate school. They were actively engaged in AI research and intended to continue post-graduation.
In recent months, there has been an increase in scrutiny on international students’ visa statuses by the State Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a measure intensified under the Trump administration. Over a thousand international students have reportedly been affected, with their colleges often left uninformed by federal agencies, creating challenges for students to address these issues.
Yisong Yue, a professor of machine learning at Caltech, expressed concerns to TechCrunch regarding the government’s stringent policies on student visas, stating that it is detrimental to the talent pipeline. He emphasized that when doctoral students are removed from projects, it can delay research progression significantly, not only affecting individual students and projects but also creating widespread concern among students on visas.
The visa crackdown has affected a variety of educational institutions, including Ivy League universities, large public colleges, and small liberal arts schools. According to various reports, while some students have been accused of supporting Palestinian militant groups or engaging in antisemitic activities, others have faced action over minor infractions such as traffic violations.
Some visa revocations appear to result from administrative errors. A computer science doctoral candidate at Brigham Young University, Suguru Onda, had their visa reinstated without explanation after their attorney initiated legal proceedings. The attorney, Adam Crayk, mentioned that AI is being used to screen visa holders without human oversight, leading to potential errors.
A judge in Georgia recently issued a temporary restraining order affecting about 100 international students, mandating the government to restore their legal status. However, this decision applies to only a small segment of those at risk and may face future legal challenges.
Yue highlighted the significant contributions of international students to recent advancements in AI. Ashish Vaswani, who arrived in the U.S. in the early 2000s to study computer science, co-developed the transformer model central to technologies like ChatGPT. Wojciech Zaremba, a co-founder of OpenAI, earned his doctorate in AI from NYU on a student visa.
An analysis by NAFSA, a nonprofit educational association, revealed that international students contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy during the 2023-2024 academic year and supported over 378,000 jobs.
Yue expressed having multiple discussions with leading AI researchers concerned about their future in the U.S. This includes professors at prestigious universities and researchers at companies such as OpenAI and Google. He reiterated that the government’s actions are making the U.S. a less attractive destination for talented researchers.
