Quick Take
A UC Santa Cruz graduate student from China was abruptly ordered to leave the U.S. in April after his visa and work authorization were revoked without explanation, one of hundreds of cases affecting international students nationwide. His status was restored by the end of the month, but he says the ordeal cost him thousands in lost income and legal fees.
A UC Santa Cruz graduate student from China said he was “confused and anxious” for several weeks this spring after the university informed him in early April that his student visa and work authorization were terminated and that he needed to leave the country “ASAP.”
His student visa was terminated April 4. He hired an attorney and had his records restored a little more than three weeks later on April 30, allowing him to finish his PhD at UCSC next year. “It’s a relief,” he said as he prepares to wrap up his studies in the United States, where he’s been living for four years.
Lookout spoke with the student through text messages relayed by a fellow UCSC graduate student. Out of fear of further actions against his status in the U.S., he requested anonymity for this story.
“I am okay to share my experience anonymously to give examples and support for others who are in the similar situation,” he said.
The student did not respond by publication time to questions such as his age, what subject he is studying at UCSC and how he feels about the Trump administration’s recent threats to revoke the visas of Chinese students.
The UC Santa Cruz graduate student was one of hundreds of international students, including at least two others at UCSC, who had their records revoked in April. It’s not clear why the students were targeted. Their records had been terminated in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). SEVIS is a system within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security used by government agencies to monitor the status of international students and exchange visitors in the country.
The federal Justice Department abruptly reversed course last month, abandoning its policy of removing international students from SEVIS after federal judges across the country issued numerous emergency orders blocking the government actions. Many of the students saw their records restored by the end of April, as did the three UCSC graduate students.
But now, a month later, the federal government has taken several steps to limit or halt new student visas, as well as to cancel the student visas of current students.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued an order to U.S. embassies and consulates to stop interviews abroad for prospective international students seeking visas and exchanges in the U.S., and on Wednesday he announced that the U.S. will start revoking student visas of Chinese students with links to the Communist Party.
The UCSC graduate student received the termination notice on April 4. He said he received a letter that afternoon from the school’s director of International Student and Scholar Services informing him that his SEVIS status had been revoked, that his work authorization had been terminated and he “needed to leave [the] U.S. ASAP.”
He sought an attorney to help restore his record. Lookout asked how the attorney attempted to restore his records, but the student didn’t clarify what was done to get them reinstated.
The student said he was unable to work as a graduate student for the university for most of the month of April without his work authorization so he lost about $2,500 of his income. He had to pay a $440 government fee to get his student visa reinstated and paid his attorney $2,750 in legal fees.
He said the attorney “was going to put me in a collective lawsuit [against the federal] government.”
Looking back on his experience, he said the school’s graduate student union was “a great helper” and responded quickly when he sought support. The union, United Auto Workers (UAW) 4811, represents graduate student workers on University of California campuses and offers a hotline for immigration-related emergencies – which the student used.
UCSC’s local union members ran a fundraiser and raised $1,000 to support the student, and the university’s Slug Support program provided him $1,250.
He had a message for other students facing similar circumstances: “Don’t give up. Use all the practicable ways to fight for your rights.”
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