A Southfield-based immigration attorney is talking about what’s happening with international students having their visas revoked.
“One student I consulted with, he heard about it, the revocation, in the morning, and he was gone by the afternoon,” immigration attorney Bradley Maze with Palmer Rey said.
Maze said their firm has heard from several international students who have had their visas revoked and residency status cancelled.
A handful of universities in Michigan have confirmed they’ve had international students impacted, including University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Central Michigan University, Wayne State University and Grand Valley State University.
Maze shared redacted letters from the University of Michigan and the government informing a student that their visa has been revoked.
The letter from the University of Michigan, in part, states, “Since this termination does not carry a grace period, we must recommend you make plans to exit the United States immediately.”
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Maze said it’s not entirely clear why a student has their visa revoked, although in some cases it could have something to do with past infractions.
“If anyone has had any brush with the law, even if it’s as minor as a traffic ticket or an arrest that doesn’t lead to a charge or conviction,” Maze said.
Maze said one student he consulted with was weeks away from earning her graduate degree from the University of Michigan.
“I got contacted by a student who was arrested because she had an argument with her roommate and the police came,” Maze said. “There were no charges filed, there was nothing in the court system. This was just an arrest and nothing further. And she believes that based on that, her status was terminated.”
Maze said the student may never know for sure what caused it.
“These are not people who are criminals or who are defrauding the US visa process at all,” Maze said. “It’s really, really minor things, if anything.”
He said students receiving this notification have few options, because it would be tricky to legally challenge it.
“There aren’t great remedies for these students,” Maze said. “Either you leave, or as you’ve heard, you get caught up in the immigration court system or the detention system.”
Given the options, Maze said fear spreads among the international student community.
“As soon as they hear about people being arrested and sent to different places, really a lot of them are just deciding that it’s time to leave,” Maze said.
Maze said when it comes down to it, the universities have no power to stop or reverse these decisions.
