AI Doctoral Candidate Visa Revoked in California
Visa Status Challenges Faced by International Students
A doctoral student pursuing artificial intelligence studies in California experienced the termination of their SEVIS record – the official digital confirmation of their legitimate student visa – thereby jeopardizing their immigration standing.
Student's Account
The student, who wished to remain anonymous due to concerns about potential repercussions, communicated to TechCrunch that they received notification through their university’s international student services department regarding identification in a criminal background check. Despite having studied in the U.S. for almost ten years, beginning at the undergraduate level, the student maintains they have no prior criminal history.
The student speculated that the issue might stem from a past encounter with law enforcement, potentially occurring even before commencing graduate studies. Their research focused on the field of AI, with plans for continued investigation post-graduation.
Widespread Crackdown on Student Visas
In recent months, the visa statuses of over a thousand international students within the United States have come under scrutiny by the State Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This represents a concerted effort initiated during the Trump administration to increase enforcement.
Notably, many educational institutions have not received direct communication from the federal agencies involved, leaving students with limited warning and few avenues for appeal.
Impact on the Talent Pipeline
Yisong Yue, a machine learning professor at Caltech, conveyed to TechCrunch that the U.S. government’s stringent approach to student visas is negatively impacting the influx of skilled individuals.
“The overall consequence is rendering the U.S. a considerably less attractive location for numerous gifted researchers,” Yue stated. “Because research is highly specialized, the removal of a doctoral student from a project can cause delays of months or even years. Beyond the directly affected students and projects, a sense of anxiety prevails among many visa holders.”
Broad Scope of Visa Suspensions
The crackdown has affected a diverse range of institutions. Reports indicate visa suspensions at prestigious Ivy League universities, large state universities, and smaller liberal arts colleges.
While the government has accused some students of supporting Palestinian militant organizations or engaging in “antisemitic” behavior, others have been targeted for minor infractions, such as traffic violations.
Administrative Errors and Legal Challenges
Some visa revocations appear to be the result of administrative errors. For example, Suguru Onda, a computer science doctoral candidate at Brigham Young University, had his student visa reinstated without explanation after his attorney initiated legal action.
The attorney, Adam Crayk, suggested that the government is utilizing AI for visa screening without adequate human oversight, leading to inaccuracies.
A Georgia judge recently issued a temporary restraining order in a case involving approximately 100 international students whose visas were revoked, directing the government to restore their legal status. However, this ruling only applies to a small fraction of students facing potential deportation and may be subject to further legal challenges.
Contributions of International Students to AI
Yue highlighted the significant contributions of international students to recent advancements in AI. Ashish Vaswani, who came to the U.S. to study computer science in the early 2000s, co-created the transformer model – a foundational AI architecture powering chatbots like ChatGPT.
Wojciech Zaremba, a co-founder of OpenAI, obtained his doctorate in AI from NYU while holding a student visa.
Economic Impact
A recent analysis conducted 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, supporting over 378,000 jobs.
Concerns Among Researchers
Yue stated he has engaged in “multiple conversations” with leading AI researchers who express concerns about remaining in the United States.
“This includes professors at top-tier universities and researchers at companies like OpenAI and Google,” he added. “The combined effect of the government’s actions is making the U.S. a less desirable destination for many talented researchers.”
