SEVIS Termination Leaves Indian Students in a Visa Deadlock After U.S. Exit

When 25-year-old Sai Kumar (name changed), a Master’s student from Telangana, abruptly saw his SEVIS record marked “terminated” earlier this April, panic took over. With fear of arrest looming and alarming social media posts amplifying the worst, he booked the earliest flight back home from Texas. Ten days after fleeing the United States, the SEVIS portal flashed a word he never expected to see again: Active.

“I refreshed it three times. I called the helpline. They confirmed it — SEVIS was restored,” he said from his home in Hyderabad. “But my visa’s still revoked. I’m stuck.”

Sai’s case isn’t unique — it’s just the beginning of what’s being called the SEVIS visa revocation crisis.

SEVIS: A Silent Exodus

In early April 2025, international students across the U.S. — overwhelmingly from India — began receiving SEVIS termination notices. Many were blindsided. In most cases, the infractions listed were minor, outdated, or already dismissed: a housemate dispute, a dropped shoplifting charge, or a speeding ticket. For some, there was no charge at all. But once a SEVIS record is terminated, a student’s legal status is void. Deportation becomes a real threat.

Unable to process the bureaucratic web and bombarded by fears stoked online, dozens of students packed their bags and left voluntarily. Within weeks, a quiet reinstatement wave began to unfold — SEVIS records turned “active” again, without explanation or apology.

Yet, despite the reinstatement of SEVIS statuses, U.S. visas remained revoked — leaving students like Sai in limbo, legally eligible to study, but unable to re-enter the country.

Fear, Misinformation, and a System Divided

According to Rahul Reddy, immigration attorney and partner at Reddy & Newman PC, over 200 students, mostly Indian and Chinese nationals, are caught in the same trap. “This crisis was preventable. The reinstatement of SEVIS is happening because of legal pressure, not goodwill,” he said. “But the U.S. government hasn’t reversed the visa revocations. That’s where students remain trapped.”

Reddy emphasized the unprecedented tone of the visa revocation notices this time. “They explicitly mentioned ICE, DHS, and even included a link to self-report. That’s new. That’s terrifying. It’s no wonder students panicked.”

The crisis highlights a fundamental flaw: SEVIS is run by the Department of Homeland Security. Visas are adjudicated by the State Department. The two systems don’t talk to each other. As a result, students with active SEVIS records remain blocked from travel due to revoked visas, and there’s no automatic path back.

Lives on Hold

A 26-year-old woman from Hyderabad, who was working in Ohio under OPT, had her SEVIS record terminated due to a dismissed shoplifting charge from 2022. Her visa was revoked two days later. “My DSO emailed me that SEVIS was reactivated,” she said. “But what do I do with that? My visa’s gone. My future’s gone. I haven’t told my parents yet — we took loans to send me there.”

A 27-year-old from Texas, recently selected in the H-1B visa lottery, had his SEVIS terminated over an alcohol sale charge. Despite being advised by his employer to process his paperwork from India, his hopes are now tangled in visa limbo.

In another case, a student who returned to India for a short vacation discovered his SEVIS had been terminated in his absence. “Now my OPT is at risk. My DSO says I need a new visa, but who’s going to give me one now?”

These are not outliers. According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), around 327 students, nearly half of them Indian, have had their F-1 visas revoked in the last few months. And yet, despite no criminal convictions in many cases, and courts dismissing charges, the fallout continues.

No Clear Path Back

The U.S. State Department, when contacted for comment, reaffirmed its commitment to security, saying:

“Visas and SEVIS are distinct. SEVIS reinstatement does not mean visa reinstatement. Individuals with revoked visas must apply anew.”

That bureaucratic split is now the bottleneck.

Even for students who followed every rule, appeared in court, and stayed compliant, the system treated them as guilty until proven otherwise — and then gave no way to recover, even after being proven innocent.

“We’re not criminals. We’re students,” said one. “I came to study. I paid my tuition. I followed the law. Now I’m back home, looking at a green ‘Active’ SEVIS record online, but no way to return.”

An Uncertain Tomorrow

For many, the emotional toll now outweighs the administrative burden. Sleepless nights, mounting debt, shattered dreams — all fueled by a system too fragmented to care.

“I believed in the American dream,” said Sai Kumar, who once aspired to a career in international media. “But now I sit in my childhood bedroom in India, with no idea what to do next.”

The SEVIS visa revocation crisis has left hundreds stranded, confused, and heartbroken — a generation of promising young minds stalled by silence, fear, and an immigration maze no student should have to navigate alone.

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