On April 16 at 4 p.m., The UCSD Guardian received notice from University Communications that 36 UC San Diego students have had their F-1 visas terminated in total. This follows Chancellor Pradeep Khosla’s campuswide notice on April 4.
Matt Nagel, chief communications and marketing officer for UCSD, said the University has determined the number of student visa revocations “through routine checks” of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.
The University identified the first visa termination in early April, and the number of students affected has been increasing since. However, Nagel told The Guardian that, since Friday, April 11, “there has been no new termination activity,” marking a five-day lapse in terminations.
According to Nagel, the federal government “still has not explained the reasons behind these terminations.” As of 7 p.m. on April 16, The Guardian has not been able to identify or verify any patterns among the students affected.
“The students have been notified and we are working directly with them to provide support,” Nagel said.
The Guardian spoke to current Associated Students President Leslie Vallejo-Avila to inquire about what support the University is providing. She said the University administration reassured her that each student has been assigned a devoted care team through the International Services and Engagement Office.
Nagel shared that this care team “includes various campus partners … to address each student’s respective academic, well-being, financial and legal needs.”
At each UC school, public notification about the number of students affected has varied. At UCSD, Nagel says that information about the number of student visas terminated will be made public more quickly moving forward through the FAQ section of its federal updates webpage, starting in “the next day or so.”
The federal government has been quietly revoking visas of international students across the country, including at schools in the University of California and the California State University systems. At some campuses — though not at UCSD — this has also included recent graduates.
UC President Dr. Michael Drake released a statement on April 8 about the visa revocations, stating that there are “approximately 50 students and recent graduates across several UC campuses who have been impacted.”
Drake wrote: “The government has not coordinated with UC leaders on their decisions or provided advance notice to us, but has indicated in government databases that the terminations were due to violations of the terms of the individuals’ visa programs.”
The Associated Press reported that at least 901 students across more than 128 colleges and universities have had their visas revoked.