The Singh household in New Delhi, India waits with bated breath every time there is a news alert about Trump administration’s new policies around international students coming to the U.S. The latest being — halting of new visa appointment scheduling for international students.
Namita Singh, mom to 18-year-old Vivek, who has secured admission to two state universities in the U.S., tells The American Bazaar: “My son’s visa scheduling is already done so he can proceed for his interview next week, however I am definitely anxious as the recent months and the rapid changes that the current U.S. administration has subjected to international students in the U.S. has really been unnerving.” The Singhs admit that securing admission to a U.S. college, which was once considered a fast track to instant prestige in India, has gradually lost some of its sheen. Namita says, “We have been warned by most of our relatives and friends about the hostile atmosphere in the U.S. particularly for immigrants. We’re sending our son to study in America because it’s his dream. Also, despite the uncertainty, we remain hopeful that once the current fog lifts, better opportunities will emerge.”
READ: Crackdown on undocumented immigrants escalates under Trump’s orders (January 29, 2025)
Particularly under the current administration’s stricter policies, there have been several incidents highlighting immigration challenges faced by international students in America, in many cases these students have been Indian. While the month of May saw the U.S. State Department halting new visa appointments for student and exchange visitor applicants coupled with plans to expand social media vetting; recently, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intensified scrutiny of the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program in April.
International students, including many from India, reported receiving warnings about potential deportation due to inaccuracies or delays in employment reporting. The past couple of months also saw a steep rise in deportations and visa cancellations among international students, including Indians, particularly those involved in political activism or protests. Some students have faced visa revocations for participation in demonstrations, a few others reported revocations based on minor legal infractions, sending a collective panic amongst the student visa community in the country.
American politician and former Washington State Senator Mona Das calls this a regrettable moment for those who still believe in the promise of the American Dream, especially as so many of those dreams once took root in the hallowed halls of U.S. colleges, where immigrant students dared to envision a better future. Speaking from personal experience, Das recalls how her father, Subodh Das, arrived in America from a small town in Jharkhand, India, as an international student with just $12 in his pocket. He went on to become a pioneering innovator, earning 38 patents over the course of his career. “These are exactly the kinds of achievers current policies are pushing away,” she warned. “If bright minds begin choosing countries like China or nations in Africa for higher education instead, we risk triggering a devastating brain drain.”
The enforcement patterns have begun affecting the Indian students’ perception of the U.S. as a study destination. Principal attorney Alen Takhsh of Illinois’ Takhsh Law PC tells The American Bazaar, “Students from India in particular, no longer view the benefits of pursuing a U.S. education as being worth the instability and uncertainty that has come to plague the F-1 visa status. The rigors of pursuing a higher education in the U.S. are daunting enough, not to mention the exceptional cost of obtaining a degree, and so the current state of affairs is placing even more pressure on students, leading many to suffer from mental health issues, including depression, anxiety and in some cases, PTSD.”
As reports continue to raise questions about the legality of certain visa revocations, immigration attorneys are increasingly challenging whether the current administration has the authority to cancel visas or deport students solely for participating in peaceful protests or being linked to non-criminal allegations. Rekha Sharma-Crawford, partner in the Kansas City law firm Sharma-Crawford Attorneys-at-Law, says, “The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful protests. Part of the concern about what the administration is currently doing is that they are acting without transparency. In this way, it is unclear if they are unlawfully infringing on protected speech.”
Sharma-Crawford adds, “The administration’s actions have, because of this, prompted numerous lawsuits alleging violations of constitutional rights, particularly free speech and due process. Under these challenges, peaceful political expression should not be grounds for visa revocation or deportation as suggested by the administration.”
Interestingly, in some of the recent cases, students have been successful in legally challenging these deportations or visa revocations. On what chances do F-1 students have of winning over what seems to be an unprecedented administration policy, Sharma-Crawford tells The American Bazaar that “thus far the students have seen much success in the courts regarding their SEVIS terminations. In all the litigation the visa revocations have not been challenged because there are some legal hurdles that must be addressed to get judicial review over that particular question.”
READ: Trump team pauses new student visa interviews for social media vetting (May 28, 2025)
“The issue is in a constant state of flux currently and each day brings a new position that the administration is putting forth. This shifting landscape is a headache not only for the student, and their lawyers, but also the courts trying to address the legal rights in such matters,” she adds.
Stricter policies and scrutiny over unsuspecting students according to experts often also results in secondary problems. For instance, stringent rules requiring students to secure employment within three months of graduation in case of OPT has in the past created circumstances where students have fallen into the trap of consultancies promising quicker results — a potentially risky situation for visa holders that can create future troubles.
Immigration experts feel that the current climate would eventually negatively impact the U.S. institutions. Takhsh says, “U.S. institutions will invariably suffer in the long run, as they will not have the benefit of revenue from international students. We have already begun to see an analogous situation unfold with respect to B-1/B-2 visas, where foreign nationals are choosing to vacation elsewhere, thus negatively impacting the U.S. tourism industry.” He adds, “Regrettably and unfathomably, the current administration simply does not appear to care.”