The University of Kentucky announced last week that visas for a “small number” of international students were revoked. UK assistant law professor Matthew Boaz says that shows a much more direct approach from immigration officers.
In Kentucky, there’s no requirement that students need immigration status to attend higher ed.
Boaz says that gives affected students some options.
“One is the university can work with that student to try to get the visa reinstated. That is, you know, a process that involves the Department of State, or sometimes USCIS, depending on the type of visa,” Boaz said.
Some students can also request a recommended reinstatement through a designated school official. But if their student status is revoked afterwards, Boaz says that can complicate things.
“That means that somebody who was previously here lawfully now can be put into deportation proceedings. So their options are to contest their removal from the United States, to hire an immigration attorney and try to say that they shouldn't be removed,” he said.
Boaz says government agencies like ICE generally didn’t revoke student visas in the past, and that decision was usually left to schools. He’s concerned that means less protection for documented immigrants.
“It's a little bit unclear how they're doing it. It feels almost random, a little bit chaotic to be honest, and they're just revoking visas and terminating student status without any typical due process, or notice that that is what's going to happen,” Boaz said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said late last month more than 300 students nationwide have had their visas revoked, some of which for pro-Palestinian campus protests. Boaz says those revocations have been expanded to include those with minor criminal offenses.
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