What Should International Students on Visas and Green Cards Know Right Now?

Updated, 3 p.m. Thursday

Advocates and attorneys are scrambling to provide guidance for international students at universities across California after the Trump administration revoked at least 96 student visas last week, following several high-profile detentions of college students and staff by immigration authorities.

International students are being advised to get familiar with their legal rights, consider canceling any travel outside of the United States and pause their social media activity.

The federal government’s revocation of visas for students at schools including Stanford, UC Davis, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego and UC Irvine caught universities and students off guard. Some students have responded by suing the federal government.

“These actions create an uncertain and challenging environment for our campus community,” UC Berkeley Chancellor Richard Lyons said in a statement on Monday. “Your university supports, without reservation, the right and ability of immigrant and international students, staff, and faculty to participate fully in the campus experience.”

The Trump administration said last month that since January, officials had revoked around 300 visas, including those of students, because of their foreign policy views or criminal history. The administration has taken major steps targeting international students who had engaged in pro-Palestinian protests and advocacy during the wave of demonstrations that has swept college campuses since October 2023.

Several international students have been detained recently, with Mahmoud Khalil’s detention being one of the most high-profile cases. Khalil, a green card holder and pro-Palestinian organizer at Columbia University, was arrested by federal authorities and moved to an immigration detention center in Louisiana.

In some cases, the federal government claimed that the international students were taking part in “activities that are counter to our national interest, to our foreign policy.”

“We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a news conference in Guyana, CBS reported. “And if we’ve given you a visa, and then you decide to do that, we’re going to take it away.”

A chilling effect

As legal teams have moved to support students, pro-Palestinian advocacy groups say that the administration was “chilling speech” and curbing protest against the United States’ support of Israel by conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism.

“It’s becoming a very insecure and strange time for this republic,” said Ramsey Judah, a lawyer with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Los Angeles, who said that the chilling effect on speech was not confined to students or green card and visa holders.

“We’re seeing it across the board because people now are scared to speak up, not just on Palestine,” he said.

In a statement, the Jewish Community Relations Council in the Bay Area said that despite disagreeing with the rhetoric of the campus protests, the group believes that it’s “incumbent upon law enforcement agencies to provide these protesters with transparency around their alleged violations and proper notice before commencing deportation proceedings.”

So, if you’re an international student on a green card or a visa, what should you know about this moment?

KQED spoke to Judah and other experts with advocacy groups about the guidance they provide to students, staff and faculty — particularly to students who have been active during pro-Palestinian protests over the past year and a half. Please bear in mind that this is not legal advice and advocates emphasize that students should consult with an immigration attorney about their individual situation. (Jump straight to: Where can international students find legal advice?)

Should international students be traveling right now? 

Many schools are advising students, faculty and staff on visas or green cards to reconsider international travel amid the looming uncertainty of an anticipated travel ban that could target visitors from countries like Venezuela, Haiti and Pakistan.

UC Berkeley’s International Office issued an advisory stating that it “does not currently recommend” that international students “engage [in] international travel for personal or professional reasons” and that “current U.S. immigration policy is unpredictable and subject to rapid change.”

While acknowledging that “there have been no specific updates with respect to travel,” UC Berkeley told international students that it was “possible that international travel could include additional risks including delays in visa appointments and processing times, increased likelihood of visa denials, and heightened screening upon reentry to the U.S.”

“We actually are telling everybody not to travel, especially if you are a student, because they’ve been denying people’s entry,” Judah said. He specifically referenced the case of a Canadian woman who was detained for two weeks after attempting to process a U.S. work visa at the San Diego border.

And while American citizens cannot be denied reentry into the U.S., Judah said that even they may need to reconsider visiting a country that appeared on the draft travel ban list since it could “open you up to interrogations when you get back.”

Judah said CAIR has been preparing visa and green card holders on what they can potentially expect when they reenter the country, including having their laptops and cellphones unlocked and searched.

At the border or an airport, an officer needs “some sort of reasonable suspicion to look through your phone,” said Judah, but “reasonable suspicion is completely subjective. It really comes down to who the officer is.”

UC Berkeley is asking international students to consider “leaving personal laptops and phones behind” if they do travel outside of the country, and if traveling with them, to “set all apps and social media accounts to private.”

NPR has an article diving deeper on what visa and green card holders should know before traveling abroad. According to NPR, some immigration attorneys have been warning some green card holders to avoid leaving the country if they have a criminal record, no matter how minor.

San Francisco-based attorney Ghassan Shamieh said that as of Wednesday, he was not aware of any reports of domestic flights being impacted by this new climate, but warned that “things can change at a moment’s notice.”

Shamieh, who has been consulting with students affected by the recent visa revocations, said students should be “monitoring trustworthy news sources,” and that “staying in touch with a trusted immigration attorney is going to be key for any student regardless of where they want to travel, how they want to travel or what they want to do.”

Do California colleges work with immigration authorities? 

The Trump administration has made broad moves to pressure universities to follow federal demands, including changes to diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice stated its intent to investigate the University of California over antisemitism allegations. The UC said in an early March statement that it “is unwavering in its commitment to combating antisemitism and protecting everyone’s civil rights.”

While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can still operate in California, state law bars the use of state or local resources to assist in federal immigration enforcement — except when the person being sought has been “convicted of a serious or violent state prison felony.”

This law also means that public schools, including public colleges and universities, cannot assist immigration officers and provide information about a student.

California universities have been encouraged by state Attorney General Rob Bonta to develop policies that make campus areas private from search without a warrant, although this does not bar ICE from entering campus. Most schools are also required to let students know that immigration authorities are on campus.

In December, Bonta rolled out guidance for schools and colleges to adopt “in responding to immigration issues” and encouraged California residents to report any suspicions that a school or its staff are assisting ICE to his office.

Despite California law, international students are still fearful that immigration agents are ignoring due process.

While a green card can be revoked after certain serious criminal convictions, international student and permanent resident Mahmoud Khalil was first detained without a criminal charge. The Trump administration said its decision to revoke Khalil’s green card was based on a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act related to foreign policy — a justification the American Immigration Lawyers Association called “obscure and constitutionally suspect.”

“[To] see it happen based on free speech with no charges, no crime, no anything — that’s kind of a shock to everybody who works in immigration and even people inside of the government, because this is something that’s really unheard of,” Judah said.

What documentation is important for international students right now? 

Attorney Shamieh said international students should immediately get in touch with their college campus’ international students office and make sure that team is checking their immigration status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records regularly. Shamieh said some records have been terminated without warning.

Shamieh also advised that international students should check with an attorney before making any updates to immigration documents, like a visa renewal.

“It’s really risky to travel right now. So if there are opportunities to renew documents while staying here in the United States, I definitely recommend doing that,” Shamieh said. “Always with the caveat of consulting with an immigration attorney, because they’ll best be able to analyze your specific situation and guide you accordingly.”

Elif Koc, a student disciplinary legal fellow with CAIR-LA, said now would be a good time for students to “get your documents in order.”

Koc said students can make copies of passports or visas and make sure trusted people in their life have them on hand.

“Because if, God forbid, something like [detention] does happen, I think it’s helpful for your attorneys and whoever is assisting to have all of that information organized and ready to go,” she said.

Koc recommended that some students also consider asking for an immigration letter of support from a professor they are close to or from an organization they are a part of. In case of a situation like a possible deportation, the letter — often addressed to an immigration judge — can detail the student’s role in the country, what they are studying and provide more perspective about them.

When it comes to accessing support, students, staff and faculty should connect with legal organizations as a way of “arming yourself with knowledge and preparing yourself,” Koc said. “There are lots of people who are extremely concerned with protecting free speech rights and your rights as a student.” Jump straight to where international students can find legal support.

Shamieh also advised that students have the numbers of Rapid Response Networks and trusted attorneys readily available for themselves and their friends and family in case they need help navigating encounters with ICE.

What should international students know about using social media right now?

This week, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it would immediately begin screening immigrants’ social media for “antisemitic activity” as “grounds for denying immigration benefit requests.” In early March, Axios reported that the State Department would launch an AI program to review the social media of student visa holders and cancel visas of those who the federal government deems as “pro-Hamas.”

Despite the Consitution’s protection of free speech under the First Amendment, Koc said students who have taken part in any pro-Palestinian protests should consider limiting their posts on social media and setting their accounts to private if it is currently public.

Koc suggests that students consider what in their social media history “would make you an appealing target for the current administration.”

“Just being really cautious about what you’re saying and how it could be construed or how it could be manipulated is a really good practice,” she advised.

UC Berkeley also advises international students to remove any content from their social media “related to political protests or statements that could be considered as somehow promoting unlawful, antisemitic, or terrorist support.”

What about students who continue to protest right now? 

For future protests, Koc said it was vital for students to be aware of their campus’ code of conduct and student disciplinary process — and how these might change under the new administration.

Schools have been the subject of the federal government’s attention, especially after Columbia responded to President Donald Trump’s threat to withhold $400 million of federal funding by agreeing to overhaul policies, including banning face masks on campus. The White House is also attempting to access the information of UC Berkeley faculty who signed open letters related to Gaza in 2023 and 2024.

Koc recommended that students, staff and faculty familiarize themselves with their school’s “time, place and manner” restrictions, which govern protesting. The restrictions are “content-neutral,” meaning that the policies apply across all protests or demonstrations, regardless of the speaker’s message.

“When it comes to campus protests, individual public campuses, they can restrict where and when and how you speak,” Koc explained. “When it comes to amplified noise, maybe they’ll say you can’t stand outside a classroom and protest.”

KQED has guides on how to safely document interactions with police and what to know when attending a rally in the Bay Area.

Koc said she sees aspects of the federal government’s tactics against international students as an attempt to quell protesting and that U.S. citizens should not feel they should stop protesting. Nonetheless, international students on visas and green cards should consider “being really careful at this point” with their “level of participation” in protests right now, she advised. Visa holders, for example, could be forced to leave the United States if they are temporarily suspended from school.

For the time being, international students who wish to keep engaging in civil disobedience should “perhaps consider taking more of a removed role, even if no one is doing anything wrong,” Koc said. “Even as they’re following all their campuses’ rules and protesting in a completely legitimate way.”

Where can you find support from immigration experts and advocates?

Shamieh said international students who are engaged with political activism or have a criminal history — even a minor one — should preemptively reach out to an attorney “to devise a plan.”

You can check with your university’s international students’ office on what support or guidance they are providing. If you are part of a union, your lawyer may also be able to provide assistance.

Other resources for immigration advice and advocacy include:

• American Civil Liberties Union, Northern California
• Stanford’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic
• National Immigration Law Center
• National Immigration Legal Services Directory
• Center for Constitutional Rights
• Palestine Legal
• Muslim Legal Fund of America
• Palestine Advocacy Legal Assistance Project from UC Berkeley
• Arab Resources and Organizing Center
• Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
• Asian Law Caucus

You can also use the asylumadvocacy.org’s database to look up a private immigration attorney.