New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that Indian missions are providing ‘support’ to Indian students facing issues with their F-1 visa amid Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
MEA’s statement on the student visa issues comes amid growing concerns over US government’s visa revocations affecting several international students including Indians.
At the weekly media briefing on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated India’s response over the issue publicly for the first time, saying: ‘We are aware that several Indian students have received communication from the US government regarding their F-1 visa status, which happens to be the student visa. We are looking into the matter. Our embassy and consulates, they are in touch with the students to provide support.’
India’s response comes after Indian student, Chinmay Deore along with three international students from China and Nepal sued US immigration authorities for cancellation of their F-1 visas, denying entry earlier this year.
India said that last month when Indian scholars Badar Suri and Ranjani Srinivasan faced the threat of deportation they did not seek assistance from Indian missions.
At least 16 lawsuits including the latest one filed in a federal court in Michigan on April 10 have been lodged by international students in the US.
The latest case accuses the officers belonging to the US Customs and Border Protection of ‘unlawfully’ revoking valid F-1 visas without due process, nevertheless students were holding active enrolment status at accredited universities.
Deore, a 21-year-old undergraduate computer science student at Wayne State University, according to the petition, came to the US for the first time in 2004 on an H-4 dependent visa.
He returned in 2014 and transitioned to an F-1 visa in 2022, according to the report.
The action against him came nevertheless he has not violated any immigration law or having no criminal record, nor involved in any campus protests, apart from receiving a speeding and a parking ticket which he paid promptly.