New Delhi: The Congress on Friday expressed concern over the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s claim that out of the 327 visa revocation cases of international students collected by it so far, 50% are Indians, and asked whether External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will take up the issue with his US counterpart.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X a press statement issued on Thursday by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and said it is “cause for concern to us in India”.
“Out of the 327 visa revocation cases of international students collected by the organisation so far, 50% are Indians. The reasons for revocation are random and unclear. There is growing fear and apprehension,” Ramesh said.
“Will the External Affairs Minister take note and raise the concern with his US counterpart? Ramesh said and tagged Jaishankar.
“The Department of State (DOS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are aggressively targeting international students, including those without a history of protest, for visa revocation, termination of their status, and removal,” the American Immigration Lawyers Association statement said.
AILA collected 327 reports of visa revocations and Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) terminations from attorneys, students, and university employees, it said.
“Of these reports – 50 percent of these students were from India, followed by 14 percent from China. Other significant countries represented in this data include South Korea, Nepal, and Bangladesh,” the statement said.
“Based on these reports, it is clear that transparency, oversight, and accountability are needed to prevent further arbitrary visa revocations and SEVIS record terminations. Finally, there should be a way for students to appeal SEVIS terminations that are inaccurate without facing a gap in their employment or requiring the university to be involved, given the sheer numbers of those impacted,” it said.
