The federal government terminated roughly 300 international student visas across the country in the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System (SEVIS) in recent weeks in what was linked in many cases to anti-Semitic campus demonstrations, takeovers of campuses, and harassment of Jewish students.
In other instances, the Department of Homeland Security cited other violations for revoking visas, such as drunk driving and other infractions.
Stony Brook University had eleven international students whose visas were revoked.
Their Office of Global Affairs team notified the impacted students immediately and moved to provide them with appropriate support.
The specific reasons for the Stony Brook revocations were not revealed but may be linked to the Gaza solidarity encampments on the campus last May.
“We want to reaffirm our strong support for all international students and scholars,” a statement from the Office of the Provost said right after this occurred.
“Stony Brook is deeply enriched by the perspectives and contributions of our global community, and we are proud to learn, teach, and conduct research alongside such exceptional individuals.”
Stony Brook has 4,436 international students from 103 countries as of Spring 2025.
Inside Higher Ed reported, “As of late April, over 280 colleges and universities have identified 1,800-plus international students and recent graduates who have had their legal status changed by the State Department.”
The Trump administration later said it would restore all terminated SEVIS statuses.
A Stony Brook spokesperson said, “We are delighted to share that all eleven Stony Brook students whose immigration status was terminated by the federal government several weeks ago have had their status reinstated. Our Office of Global Affairs team has already been in contact with the affected students. This change means on-campus employment can be restored, and allows these students to return their full attention to their academic pursuits.“
International students who break the law while guests here in the United States must abide by all laws.
The Trump administration has been clear that they will not stand by as students take over campuses, riot, harass, and hold hate-filled, anti-Semitic demonstrations.
The Trump Administration, in reaction to lawsuits filed on behalf of the students wrote in its notice to a federal judge, did not say that it was finished eliminating students’ SEVIS records, just that “ICE will not modify [a] record solely based on the NCIC [National Crime Information Center] finding that resulted in the recent SEVIS record termination,” according to the court filing. ICE is working on a policy framework for terminating SEVIS records.
Stony Brook administration did move quickly to assist their international students who had their status terminated.
“We are thankful for the outpouring of support from so many in our university community. As we stated in a previous message, Stony Brook is deeply enriched by the perspectives and contributions of our global community, and we are proud to learn, teach, and conduct research alongside our exceptional international students and scholars,” said the Stony Brook administration.