Harvard University's SEVP revoked: How will existing foreign students be affected?
While the Trump administration has revoked the right for Harvard University to admit foreign students, it is concerning for existing international students.
In yet another move by the Donald Trump administration against Harvard University, the school has been stripped of its right to accept foreign students. This comes in the wake of heightened protests on campus related to the Israel-Palestine conflict, followed by continued employment of DEI policies.
Harvard University's SEVP certification has been revoked, but it could be reinstated if certain criteria outlined by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem are met soon.
No more admitting international students
In a letter to Harvard University dated May 22, Kristi Noem described that the school's right to intake foreign students has been revoked. This means it can no longer admit foreign students under F-1 or J-1 visas.
What does that mean for existing foreign students?
That part of the issue has also been addressed in the letter by Kristi Noem. Existing foreign students will have to transfer to other universities in order to maintain their F-1 or J-1 visa statuses. Existing foreign students will not be able to maintain their visa status with Harvard anymore, based on the DHS notification.
"The revocation of your Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification means that Harvard is prohibited from having any aliens on F- or J- nonimmigrant status for the 2025-2026 academic school year. This decertification also means that existing aliens on F- or J- nonimmigrant status must transfer to another university in order to maintain their nonimmigrant status,” says Noem's letter addressed to Harvard University.
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This may come as a shock to international university students at Harvard. More than 6,000 international students are currently based at the Harvard campus, who will now have to look for alternative options to continue their overseas education. Among these thousands of foreign students who study there each year, there are 500 to 800 Indian students enrolled at Harvard. This year, 788 Indian students study at the Harvard University campus.
