Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent threat to revoke the visas of some Chinese students in the U.S. is concerning to a former immigration attorney now at the University of Kentucky. Matthew Boaz is an assistant professor of law at UK. He said one frustrating thing about Rubio’s remarks is that it came with very few details.
“For example, his indication that those who are studying in critical fields might have their visas revoked. Critical fields are not defined. Does he mean the sciences? Does he mean specific forms of engineering? It's unclear how this will be implemented and at what level.”
Boaz said another concern is that all interviews for students requesting F, M and J visas have been suspended in order for the State Department to review their social media profiles. He said that makes it difficult to plan for international students who serve as research assistants and teachers.
“The planning writ large is dependent on knowing how and who is going to come, and how they're going to come and how they're going to be able to support themselves and the United States. So the fact that there's a pause on those when the fall semester is two and a half months away, I think, is probably frustrating for the administration.”
Last week, Rubio said the visa revocations would also be aimed at students with connections to the Chinese Communist Party.
