Challenges faced by International students in the U.S. amid Visa revocations and mental health struggles
Shreeaa Rathi | TIMESOFINDIA.COM | May 19, 2025, 18:34 IST
( Image credit : Getty Images, TOIGLOBAL )
After a tumultuous period, the U.S. government is taking steps to restore vital records for international students. This initiative comes as many students are grappling with the aftermath of disruptions in their academic journeys. Challenges abound; some students are caught in visa limbo, while others are navigating complex re-enrollment processes and job searches.
International students in the U.S. are facing challenges as the government reinstates their records after a period of uncertainty, with some students unable to return due to revoked visas, others struggling to re-enroll or find jobs, and many experiencing mental distress and fear of being targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); this situation arose after over 4,700 students had their permission to study in the U.S. canceled this spring, prompting legal action and concerns about due process.
The U.S. government is reinstating records for international students after a period of disruption. Many students face difficulties rebuilding their lives.
One student abruptly lost his laboratory job in Houston. Fearing detention, he returned to his home country in south Asia on a one-way ticket.
His American visa was revoked, leaving him "stranded."
As the government reinstates students’ records, many face a daunting path. For those who left, there is no guarantee they can return.
Others have faced challenges reenrolling in school and returning to jobs. Mental anguish from their ordeals linger, as do feelings of vulnerability.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has , leaving many to fear they could be targeted again.
More than 4,700 international students had their permission to study in the U.S. canceled this spring.
Department of Homeland Security officials said they ran the names of student visa holders through an FBI-run database. This database contains the names of suspects and people who have been arrested, even if they were never charged with a crime or had charges dropped.
Lawyers for international students sought a nationwide injunction in court. They said it would protect their clients and others across the country.
Government attorneys said that wasn’t necessary because ICE was mailing status reactivation letters.
It likely will take two weeks for all students to receive their letter. The letter can then be shared with universities and employers, according to assistant U.S. attorney Elizabeth Kurlan.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers said the letter is meaningless. They argued ICE’s new policy suggests student records can be terminated on a whim.
There’s also no evidence ICE has asked the State Department to restore revoked visas, the plaintiffs’ attorneys said.
The student in Houston left within about a week of learning his legal status had been terminated.
Around that time, he also received an email that the visa he used to enter the U.S. had been revoked.
He believes his termination stemmed from a 2021 fraud case that was dismissed.
Over nearly a decade he had built a life in the U.S., where he was enrolled in “optional practical training.” This allows foreign students to stay and work for up to three years on their student visas.
In his home country, he is now looking for work and living with his mother.
The wait time for a U.S. visa interview is at least a year, he said.
Even if he got another visa, returning would be complicated because of his financial situation.
He had a car loan and credit cards in the U.S. that he can’t afford to pay after losing his job, and his credit score has since dropped, he said.
“Revoking a visa or revoking a SEVIS status does not just affect the educational side of things, it affects the whole life,” said the student, who has struggled with feelings of loneliness and also grief over his father’s recent death.
SEVIS is the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems database. It tracks international students’ compliance with their visa status.
Students who left the country may not have known their rights or had the resources to hire a lawyer, said Ben Loveman, an immigration attorney. They now will have a harder time being reinstated, he said.
“There were huge consequences,” Loveman said.
For a Nepali programmer in Texas who had his status terminated, the ordeal brought up a mistake he thought he had left in the past.
The programmer was arrested four years ago for drunken driving.
He said he took responsibility for his actions, performing community service hours, serving probation and paying fines.
The judge told him the records could be sealed after two years, but the case appears to explain why he was targeted by immigration authorities.
“I followed everything,” he said. “If they’re going to take it all, at least give me due process.”
His status has since been restored, and the programmer, who is on an OPT program, has gone back to his job.
If the right opportunity emerged in another country like New Zealand or Canada, he said he would take it and leave.
A student at Iowa State University who also requested anonymity out of concern about being targeted, said he is looking for options to leave the U.S., after what he describes as a “dark period.”
The Ph.D. student said his status termination pushed him to a mental breaking point.
He had a plane ticket back home to Bangladesh reserved.
He hardly left his apartment, and when he did, he felt he was being followed.
He attributes his termination to pending charges against him for marijuana possession, but he said he hadn’t been convicted.
After his status reinstatement, he restarted a teaching assistant job he had lost.
Then, he had to catch up on grading almost three weeks of assignments for dozens of students.
While he’s relieved to get back to school, he’s confident about his decision to leave by the end of the year — either for home or Europe.
The degree is not worth the risk of another status termination, he said.
“How much should I suffer to continue here?” he said.
The U.S. government is reinstating records for international students after a period of disruption. Many students face difficulties rebuilding their lives.
One student abruptly lost his laboratory job in Houston. Fearing detention, he returned to his home country in south Asia on a one-way ticket.
His American visa was revoked, leaving him "stranded."
As the government reinstates students’ records, many face a daunting path. For those who left, there is no guarantee they can return.
Others have faced challenges reenrolling in school and returning to jobs. Mental anguish from their ordeals linger, as do feelings of vulnerability.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has , leaving many to fear they could be targeted again.
More than 4,700 international students had their permission to study in the U.S. canceled this spring.
Department of Homeland Security officials said they ran the names of student visa holders through an FBI-run database. This database contains the names of suspects and people who have been arrested, even if they were never charged with a crime or had charges dropped.
Lawyers for international students sought a nationwide injunction in court. They said it would protect their clients and others across the country.
Government attorneys said that wasn’t necessary because ICE was mailing status reactivation letters.
It likely will take two weeks for all students to receive their letter. The letter can then be shared with universities and employers, according to assistant U.S. attorney Elizabeth Kurlan.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers said the letter is meaningless. They argued ICE’s new policy suggests student records can be terminated on a whim.
There’s also no evidence ICE has asked the State Department to restore revoked visas, the plaintiffs’ attorneys said.
The student in Houston left within about a week of learning his legal status had been terminated.
Around that time, he also received an email that the visa he used to enter the U.S. had been revoked.
He believes his termination stemmed from a 2021 fraud case that was dismissed.
Over nearly a decade he had built a life in the U.S., where he was enrolled in “optional practical training.” This allows foreign students to stay and work for up to three years on their student visas.
In his home country, he is now looking for work and living with his mother.
The wait time for a U.S. visa interview is at least a year, he said.
Even if he got another visa, returning would be complicated because of his financial situation.
He had a car loan and credit cards in the U.S. that he can’t afford to pay after losing his job, and his credit score has since dropped, he said.
“Revoking a visa or revoking a SEVIS status does not just affect the educational side of things, it affects the whole life,” said the student, who has struggled with feelings of loneliness and also grief over his father’s recent death.
SEVIS is the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems database. It tracks international students’ compliance with their visa status.
Students who left the country may not have known their rights or had the resources to hire a lawyer, said Ben Loveman, an immigration attorney. They now will have a harder time being reinstated, he said.
“There were huge consequences,” Loveman said.
For a Nepali programmer in Texas who had his status terminated, the ordeal brought up a mistake he thought he had left in the past.
The programmer was arrested four years ago for drunken driving.
He said he took responsibility for his actions, performing community service hours, serving probation and paying fines.
The judge told him the records could be sealed after two years, but the case appears to explain why he was targeted by immigration authorities.
“I followed everything,” he said. “If they’re going to take it all, at least give me due process.”
His status has since been restored, and the programmer, who is on an OPT program, has gone back to his job.
If the right opportunity emerged in another country like New Zealand or Canada, he said he would take it and leave.
A student at Iowa State University who also requested anonymity out of concern about being targeted, said he is looking for options to leave the U.S., after what he describes as a “dark period.”
The Ph.D. student said his status termination pushed him to a mental breaking point.
He had a plane ticket back home to Bangladesh reserved.
He hardly left his apartment, and when he did, he felt he was being followed.
He attributes his termination to pending charges against him for marijuana possession, but he said he hadn’t been convicted.
After his status reinstatement, he restarted a teaching assistant job he had lost.
Then, he had to catch up on grading almost three weeks of assignments for dozens of students.
While he’s relieved to get back to school, he’s confident about his decision to leave by the end of the year — either for home or Europe.
The degree is not worth the risk of another status termination, he said.
“How much should I suffer to continue here?” he said.