The Trump administration has revoked hundreds of international student visas across the country, setting off a desperate scramble for them to leave the United States within days. Universities have reported some students being forced to leave immediately,
The cancellations reflect a small percentage of the estimated 1.5 million international students studying in the United States, but have sent shockwaves through the collegiate community. Some of the cancellations appear to be connected to things as minor as roommate disputes or as off-campus traffic tickets, university officials said, while others appear to be connected to pro-Palestinian protest participation.
"I've been doing this for 25 years and I've never seen 300 students lose their visas," said Len Saunders, a Washington state immigration attorney based near the Canadian border. "To hear that something like 300 visas were cancelled out of the blue … it's all political. To read that there's hundreds of people having their visas cancelled, you know exactly what it is."