Beyond The Dome: 13 students stripped of visa status at the University at Buffalo

By: Sydney Umstead, News Editor 

In a press release on April 8 from the University at Buffalo (UB), it was announced that 13 students had their F-1 visas suddenly terminated from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) record. 

F-1 visas, also known as student visas, had been “unexpectedly terminated in the past week by Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP),” according to the press release.

Four of the students are current students at UB, and the other nine were recent graduates. 

The university stated that its Department of International Student Services (ISS) will be “providing support to the impacted students and graduates, and has advised them to consider retaining a private immigration attorney for assistance.” They will also be forced to leave the country due to their legal status being stripped away. 

Following the arbitrary termination, Scott Weber, the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, and Vice Provost for International Education Nojin Kwak, updated the campus regarding information on immigration and available resources. 

The exact reason remains unclear; however, “the actions appear to be consistent with a recent change in enforcement approach by the U.S. State Department, which recently stated that it will have zero tolerance for noncitizens, including student visa holders, who violate U.S. laws,” insinuating that those who allegedly break the law may lose their visa status. While the students’ names have not been released, it’s unclear what the alleged crimes were, if any. 

“The government is arguing that it is going to terminate any student visa that is potentially a threat to national security and safety… We may never know [why], because the government doesn’t have to reveal that,” said Rosanna Berardi, the managing partner of Berardi Immigration Law stated in an article with WKBW regarding the suspensions at UB. 

UB.edu reports that international students make up 20% of the university’s campus. The revocation of the visas is potentially linked to the protest to end the genocide in Gaza, that occurred at UB last year. 

WKBW reported “Just hours after these visas were revoked,” and then The Department of Homeland Security published a news release titled “Screening Aliens’ Social Media Activity for Antisemitism.”