BREAKING: Visas revoked for three from MIT
David Darmofal and Suzy Nelson: The revocations “do not appear to be related to campus activism”
Vivian Hir–The Tech
On April 7 at 6:56 p.m., international students at MIT received an email stating that the visas of three members of the MIT community had been revoked. Signed by David Darmofal PhD ’93, Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate and Graduate Education, and Suzy Nelson, Vice Chancellor for Student Life, the immigration statuses of these individuals were found to be terminated in the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). The email did not identify any of the students who had their visas revoked.
Darmofal and Nelson clarified that the cases of these three individuals “do not appear to be related to campus activism.” They added that MIT “is in touch directly with these individuals.” Darmofal and Nelson noted that terminated immigration status in SEVIS could stem from several other causes, including arrest records and traffic violations.
The Tech was able to contact one of the individuals with a terminated visa. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the student said they received an email from the State Department on the morning of April 8, stating that their F-1 visa has been revoked and that they must leave the country.
The individual stated that they did not participate in any pro-Palestinian protests. However, they had a prior arrest, but the case was dismissed and charges were not filed.
The Tech spoke to a representative of the MIT International Students Office (ISO), who stated that for confidentiality and privacy, ISO could not provide identifying details of the three individuals with terminated immigration status.
According to the ISO website, one of ISO’s missions is to advise international students on immigration regulations and help with the “maintenance of legal status.” According to 2024-2025 student enrollment numbers, MIT has 3,430 international students, who make up 11.6% of the undergraduate population and 40% of the graduate population.
The ISO advises international students to regularly check the email associated with their visa application, notify the ISO of any communication from government agencies regarding immigration or visa statuses, and contact their visa sponsor or immigration attorney if they do not have an MIT-sponsored F or J student visa.
On April 8 at 3:57 p.m., Ellen Reid, undergraduate program manager for the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), emailed the EECS undergraduate and MEng community about the recent visa revocations, linking the Office of the Chancellor’s email. In the email, Reid provided resources for international students, including the ISO and EECS undergraduate office.
Visa revocations have taken place across the country. MIT is among at least 70 colleges and universities where students have been affected. On April 6, Harvard announced that visas had been revoked for three current students and two recent graduates after a “routine” records review. The highly publicized detentions of Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk, and others have highlighted the federal government’s crackdown on those involved in the pro-Palestinian movement. However, visas have also been revoked for traffic violations or similarly minor infractions. In other cases, they have been revoked seemingly without reason, as with Dartmouth doctoral student Xiaotian Liu.
Chancellor Melissa Nobles will host an informative webinar on April 11 at 1:30 p.m. with an immigration attorney about various topics pertaining to the international community, including travel and visa status. Questions can be submitted in advance by emailing immigration-questions@mit.edu.
A correction was made on April 9, 2025: An excerpt from a student organization has been removed.
A correction was made on April 9, 2025: An excerpt from the student with a revoked visa has been removed.