A California-based AI doctoral student has had their SEVIS record terminated, putting their immigration status at risk, in a move that highlights the Trump administration's aggressive crackdown on student visas. The student, who requested anonymity, was notified by their college's international student center that they'd been identified in a criminal records check, despite having no criminal record.

This incident is part of a broader trend, with over 1,000 international students in the US having their visa statuses challenged by the State Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the past few months. Many colleges haven't been directly notified by the relevant federal agencies, leaving students with little notice or recourse.

The crackdown has sparked concerns among researchers and academics, who warn that it could harm the talent pipeline in the AI field. Yisong Yue, a machine learning professor at Caltech, told TechCrunch that the US government's hardline stance on student visas is "harming the talent pipeline." "The cumulative effect is making the US a significantly less appealing destination for many talented researchers," Yue said.

Yue's concerns are echoed by the experiences of international students who have contributed significantly to AI research in the US. Ashish Vaswani, who moved to the US to study computer science in the early 2000s, is one of the co-creators of the transformer, a seminal AI model architecture that underpins chatbots like ChatGPT. One of the co-founders of OpenAI, Wojciech Zaremba, earned his doctorate in AI from NYU on a student visa.

The impact of the crackdown extends beyond individual students, with broader implications for the US economy. A recent analysis by the nonprofit educational association NAFSA found that international students at US colleges and universities contributed $43.8 billion to the domestic economy during the 2023-2024 academic year and supported more than 378,000 jobs.

Some institutions have been spared by the crackdown, but few have been completely unaffected. Students attending Ivy League universities, large public colleges, and small liberal arts schools have had their visas suspended. While the government has accused some of these students of supporting Palestinian militant groups or engaging in "antisemtic" activities, others have been targeted for minor legal infractions, like speeding tickets or other traffic violations.

In some cases, the revocations appear to be administrative mistakes. Suguru Onda, a computer science doctoral candidate at Brigham Young University, had their revoked student visa reinstated without explanation shortly after their immigration attorney filed suit. The attorney, Adam Crayk, said the government is using AI to screen visa holders without human verification, leading to errors.

Last week, a judge in Georgia issued a temporary restraining order in the case of around 100 international students whose visas were revoked, directing the government to reinstate the students' legal status. However, the ruling only applies to a fraction of students at risk of deportation, and could be challenged down the line.

As the US government continues to crack down on student visas, researchers and academics are warning of the long-term consequences for the country's AI talent pipeline. "This includes professors at top universities and researchers at companies such as OpenAI, Google, and so on," Yue said. "The cumulative effect of the government's actions is making the US a significantly less appealing destination for many talented researchers."

The incident highlights the need for a more nuanced approach to immigration policy, one that balances national security concerns with the need to attract top talent in critical fields like AI. As the US continues to compete with other countries for AI supremacy, the crackdown on student visas could have far-reaching consequences for the country's research and innovation ecosystem.