In a growing wave of visa-related challenges targeting international scholars, an AI doctoral student in California has reportedly had their student visa revoked, placing both their academic future and immigration status in jeopardy.
The AI doctoral student in California, who chose to remain anonymous, told TechCrunch they were informed by their university’s international student center that their SEVIS record — the digital certification required for maintaining valid student visa status — had been terminated. The student, who has spent nearly a decade studying in the United States, firmly denied any criminal history.
According to the student, the visa revocation could be linked to a minor interaction with law enforcement from years ago, long before their graduate research in artificial intelligence had begun.
The situation is part of a broader clampdown by U.S. federal agencies, with more than a thousand international students reportedly affected in recent months. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the State Department have tightened scrutiny on visa holders, often leaving students with little warning or explanation as their legal status evaporates.
Yisong Yue, a machine learning professor at Caltech, voiced concern over the chilling effect this policy is having on the U.S. research ecosystem. “The cumulative effect is making the U.S. a significantly less appealing destination for many talented researchers,” Yue said, highlighting how the sudden removal of doctoral candidates from AI projects can delay research by months, or even years.
Reports suggest that the crackdown has affected students across a wide spectrum of institutions, from Ivy League universities to smaller colleges. Some visa revocations have been linked to alleged security concerns, while others appear to stem from minor infractions, administrative errors, or automated screenings flagged by artificial intelligence, sometimes without human review.
One case involved Suguru Onda, a computer science Ph.D. candidate at Brigham Young University, whose visa was abruptly reinstated after a legal challenge. His attorney, Adam Crayk, criticized the reliance on AI-driven systems for immigration decisions, warning that these tools may produce false positives without proper oversight.
A recent court ruling in Georgia granted temporary relief to around 100 students whose visas had been revoked, ordering the government to reinstate their status, though this applies to only a small subset of the affected population and could face further legal challenges.
The controversy arises as international students continue to play a pivotal role in American tech innovation. From Ashish Vaswani, co-creator of the Transformer model architecture behind ChatGPT, to OpenAI’s co-founder Wojciech Zaremba, international scholars have been essential in advancing the AI field.
Beyond their academic impact, international students contributed an estimated $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy in the 2023-2024 academic year, supporting over 378,000 American jobs, according to the nonprofit NAFSA.
Yue emphasized that the consequences of the current immigration policy ripple far beyond individual cases. “I’ve had multiple conversations with senior AI researchers, including those at OpenAI and Google, who are now rethinking their future in the United States.”
As the U.S. tightens immigration scrutiny on scholars, stories like the AI doctoral student in California underscore growing concerns that America’s global tech leadership could be undermined by policies that discourage international talent.
Get the Latest AI News on AI Content Minds Blog