Indian students stranded in visa limbo months after SEVIS reinstatement

He had a wedding date fixed. His name had just been drawn in the coveted H-1B visa lottery. The 27-year-old MBA graduate from Monroe College in New York was weeks away from becoming both a husband and a full-time US employee.

Then, in April, his world collapsed with a single email. His SEVIS — the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System that governs the legal status of foreign students — had been “terminated.” His F-1 visa was revoked. Overnight, he was out of status and at risk of deportation.

“I panicked,” he recalled. “Everyone online was saying ICE was detaining people. I didn’t want to get arrested. So I left.”

Today, he is back in his childhood bedroom in Hyderabad. The wedding is on hold, his career frozen, his future blurred. “I should’ve stayed,” he admits. “I regret it now. I was picked in the H-1B lottery, but I don’t know if it even matters anymore. I have no plan B.”

He is one of hundreds of Indian students caught in a crisis that has stretched into its fourth month. For many, SEVIS records were quietly restored within weeks of the sudden terminations. But their visas remain cancelled, locking them out of the US.

Lives interrupted overnight

Apartments were abandoned mid-lease. Internships were cut short. Degrees remain unfinished. Loans loom large. Many students rushed home in fear — some on rumors of deportation, others after police run-ins or even dismissed cases.

A 25-year-old from Telangana pursuing a master’s in Texas left the US after a roommate dispute escalated into a police complaint. “My SEVIS came back, but my visa didn’t,” he said. “I was doing my internship, hoping for a full-time job. Now everything is gone.”

Another student, a 26-year-old Cleveland State graduate working on OPT, returned after her visa was revoked over a resolved shoplifting case. “I told my parents it was a short trip. Now it’s been four months,” she said. “They borrowed money for my US degree. I was supposed to pay it back with my job there. I don’t even know what to tell them anymore.”

Some, like a North Carolina student who happened to be in India during the revocations, never got the chance to go back. “I didn’t even get to respond. My DSO says I need to reapply, but if they reject me, I lose everything.”

Caught in a bureaucratic crossfire

The confusion lies in the split between U.S. agencies: Homeland Security controls SEVIS, while the State Department handles visas. Restored SEVIS records don’t automatically reinstate visas, leaving students trapped in a bureaucratic no man’s land.

“The issue now is that students whose visas were revoked and who left the US cannot return using the same visa,” explained Houston-based immigration lawyer Rahul Reddy. “They must apply for a new visa — but this time, the revocation notices used unusually threatening language, which scared many into leaving.”

According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Indians make up about half of the 327 students whose visas were revoked this year. They also form the largest group of international students in the U.S. — over 3.3 lakh in 2023–24, nearly 29% of the total.

Waiting in uncertainty

For now, some are writing to Designated School Officials (DSOs), others are waiting for embassy appointments, and a few are reluctantly trying to rebuild careers in India. But many remain suspended in uncertainty.

“My whole plan was to build a life in the US,” said the Monroe College graduate. “Now I’m 27, jobless, and explaining visa law to relatives at family functions. What do I even say? I’ve never felt more stuck in my life.”