International Students Drive Innovation. Student Visa Cancellations Are Creating Chaos & Uncertainty.

Why are international students so important to the U.S.?

International students and graduates grow the economy and create jobs.

In the 2023-2024 school year, international students contributed a combined $43.8 billion to the economy and supported more than 375,000 jobs across the U.S. And when international graduates stay in the U.S. long-term and work, they create jobs, start new businesses, and raise wages for U.S.-born workers. 

International students and graduates are critical to the STEM workforce and industries of the future.

International students drive innovation by performing essential work in university labs and classrooms and contributing to American companies while working on OPT. Tens of thousands of international students are positioned to graduate with degrees related to key fields like AI and semiconductors each year.

In addition, a quarter of the U.S. billion-dollar start-up companies were founded by a former international student who each created an average of 860 jobs. In total, 44% of these “unicorn” startups were started by someone outside the U.S. Examples include Chobani, Stripe, and Cloudfare. 

Hosting international students is a strategic part of our foreign policy.

International education has long been acknowledged as a critical soft power tool cultivating global collaboration and networks. Educational institutions play an important role in projecting the U.S.’ influence.

When international students return to their home countries or move abroad after being educated in the U.S., they have the potential to act as ambassadors for the U.S. and its higher education system, strengthening ties with other nations. As of October 2024, 70 world leaders from 58 countries had been educated in the U.S.

International students benefit U.S.-born students.

International students bring diverse viewpoints and cultural backgrounds to their colleges and universities that expand the perspectives of all students. 

With most international students paying full tuition, their enrollment has important financial benefits to their institutions and the maintenance of key programs, centers, and benefits that all students rely on. A 2015 study found that international students contributed $9 billion to public universities, 28% of their overall total revenue, which allows schools to increase domestic student enrollment. Universities are also able to support bigger and better graduate programs and research efforts as foreign-born individuals not only enroll in the programs but also serve as faculty and postdoctorate researchers, particularly in science and engineering fields. 

Immigration benefits all Americans and strengthens the economy

In general, when immigrants come to America, their success yields benefits for their U.S.-born counterparts, as well—a rising tide that lifts all boats. In many cases, increased immigration is associated with increased employment for native-born workers. Immigration has little to no effect on wages for U.S.-born workers, and more likely contributes to higher productivity and wages, especially in fields requiring advanced skills. Immigrants pay nearly $525 billion annually in federal, state, and local taxes.

Read more in our blog post, International Students and Graduates in the United States: 5 Things to Know.

How is the Trump administration targeting international students?

In March 2025, the State Department began revoking visas for numerous current and former international students, apparently based on their involvement in free speech activities. Soon after, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began terminating the Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records of some 4,700 international students and graduates, often without any notification to the impacted individual or their college or university. 

Individuals targeted by State Department and DHS actions have been impacted in different ways, with some having their visas revoked, others having their SEVIS records deleted, and many dealing with both. Students whose visas are revoked are unable to leave and re-enter the country. If their SEVIS record is terminated, they may no longer be eligible to attend class or maintain their legal work authorization. In either case, they could be deemed out of status and therefore subject to deportation and additional immigration penalties.

SEVIS is the online system managed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that tracks international students in the U.S. and monitors their status, activities, and compliance with visa requirements. Typically, SEVIS records are maintained by the college or university. However, DHS has been actively canceling SEVIS records without notifying the individuals or the enrolling institution. The unprecedented action of deleting these SEVIS records absent any due process has created intense confusion amongst impacted individuals, higher education institutions, and employers.

According to recent testimony from DHS lawyers, government officials ran the names of more than one million international students through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), a federal database managed by the FBI that contains broad information about individuals who have come into contact with the criminal justice system. Thousands of students whose names were matched in the database had their SEVIS accounts canceled without any further investigation. 

From first-hand accounts collected by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), we know that examples of contact with the criminal justice system included:

• Speeding five miles per hour over the limit 
• Citations for minor driving infractions, like parking tickets and not wearing a seatbelt
• Victims of domestic violence who were taken into custody as a result of state policy when they called the police on their abuser
• Numerous instances where charges were dropped or cases were dismissed

International students are some of the most tracked and vetted visitors in the United States. The government has failed to show evidence that these cases reach the legal standard for revoking a student's ability to remain in the U.S. Often, these individuals’ encounters with law enforcement were previously known to the federal government, having been disclosed in subsequent visa applications. 

At least 69 lawsuits have been brought against the federal government challenging the legality of the mass action to end the lawful status of these thousands of individuals, including in Georgia, New Hampshire, Colorado, and Massachusetts. As many of these cases were succeeding in the courts with judges granting temporary restraining orders and at least temporarily restoring individuals’ legal statuses in 35 cases, the federal government abruptly reversed its actions. On April 25, 2025, the Justice Department announced that it intends to restore the previously terminated records of all individuals who were impacted by its scrutiny of criminal history checks. This announcement came with the caveat that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be developing a policy and procedure to continue with future SEVIS records terminations.

Before their records could be restored, many impacted individuals had already left the country, some even encouraged by their university to do so. It is unknown if those students who have left will be a permanent loss to the U.S. or how having cancellations or revocations on their record will impact any future immigration options, including their ability to return to the U.S. and finish their studies. 

It’s clear that this administration is taking an adversarial approach to international students. Notably, we have seen efforts to end an entire university’s ability to enroll any international students as well as a declaration of a “one-strike” immigration policy that would impact students and all temporary visa holders. A “one-strike” policy will will result in visas being instantly revoked at the whim of the government, including for any interaction with the criminal justice system or even social media posts at odds with the administration’s positions.