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International students in America are equally at risk when it comes to getting deported from the US. Any violation of law by international students can result in the revocation of their visa and deportation or removed from the United States. If overseas student overstays their visa, violate its terms, or commit a crime, they may be deported during the course.
For international students the two major concerns are – ‘Will I be deported or removed?’, and ‘Will I be prevented from returning? Leaving the U.S. for a break can lead to being “excluded” or denied entry.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) has the power to deport international students who commit serious criminal offenses while on or off campus.
Offenses that carry a potential jail sentence greater than one year fall under cases that can make way for deportation. Offenses not usually resulting in deportation/removal include driving under the influence of alcohol, driving under a suspended license, traffic tickets such as speeding, stop signs, lane usage, invalid license, etc. or first offense shoplifting (theft) where the potential sentence is less than one year in jail.
Merely being arrested or detained or under police investigation does not make you automatically unable to enter or re-enter the U.S.
While studying in the United States, it is important to maintain one’s student visa status. The goal or reason for entering the United States determines the student visa status, which is given by the US Department of State. If the Department of State awards you an F or M student visa, it indicates that you are going to the United States to study. You should not engage in any actions that detract from that goal.
If you do not qualify to stay in America or decide to leave, F-1 students and dependents have 60 days from the completion of their program (or training) to leave the United States. Similarly, M-1 students and families have 30 days after the program (or training) ends to leave the United States.
If one remains within the US after this period, it amounts to unlawful presence. Unlawful presence is any period when you are present in the United States without being admitted or when you are present in the United States after your “period of stay authorized by the Secretary” expires
The situation under the Trump administration is quite different and some quick action is being seen when it comes to the deportation of visa holders with criminal pasts.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an X post writes – “When you apply to enter the United States and you get a visa, you are a guest… If you tell us when you apply for a visa ‘I’m coming to the U.S. to participate in pro-Hamas events,’ that runs counter to the foreign policy interest of the United States… If you had told us you were going to do that, we never would have given you the visa.”
Marco Rubio has been vocal on student issues for long. A November 2023 post of Marco Rubio reads – This weekend MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) admitted it didn’t follow through with threats to suspend activists who are harassing Jewish faculty and students because some of them are in America on student visas that could be revoked.
Recently, Ranjani Srinivasan, a PhD student at Columbia University, had her F-1 student visa canceled for allegedly “advocating for violence and terrorism” and promoting Hamas. Fearing repercussions from the authorities, she willingly left the country using the self-deportation tool in the recently released Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Home App.
The Trump administration endeavors to deport foreigners who participated in pro-Palestinian rallies at colleges last year. Federal immigration officers have arrested two foreigners, one of whom was a student, who protested at Columbia University last year. The US revoked the visa of another student, who fled America this week.
Source: https://www.financialexpress.com/business/investing-abroad-are-international-students-in-america-at-risk-of-getting-their-student-visa-revoked-before-being-deported-3779668/
