The US on Tuesday warned that Indian students who dropped out, skipped classes or left courses without informing their schools could face revocation of visas.
“If you drop out, skip classes, or leave your programme of study without informing your school, your student visa may be revoked, and you may lose eligibility for future US visas. Always adhere to the terms of your visa and maintain your student status to avoid any issues,” the US embassy here posted on X.
To pursue higher studies in a US institution under an F1 visa, international students need to comply with the university regulations and code of conduct. To maintain the F1 status, students have to attend all classes, maintain good academic standing, take permission from the designated school official before dropping any class and obtain the university’s approval to work off campus.
Prof. M.M. Salunkhe, former vice-chancellor of the Central University of Rajasthan and former president of the Association of Indian Universities, said the Donald Trump administration was looking to strictly implement the visa conditions.
“The policy is going to be implemented across institutions strictly from now on. The Trump administration is trying to show Americans that it is checking migration, including the migration of international students. In addition, the administration is trying to force universities to stop admitting foreign students. This will harm the interests of the US in the long run. International students significantly contribute to knowledge creation in the US,” Salunkhe said.
Prof. Jaspal Singh Sandhu, vice-chancellor of Lovely Professional University, said the policy seemed fair if students missed classes or dropped out without any valid reason.
“Visa is task-specific. So dropping out or leaving a programme is a misdemeanour. But the reasons for dropping out and leaving a programme have to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Genuine cases like illness or family issues should be considered sympathetically,” Sandhu said.
“Indian students are more serious than most students in the world. As such, they are unlikely to drop out of a programme without a valid reason,” he added.
A former bureaucrat of the education ministry said the visa issued by India to
foreign students enrolled in Indian institutions also had certain conditions attached
to it.
“If a foreign student drops out of a programme in an Indian university and the
educational institution doesn’t accept the reason as valid, the student loses the right
to continue on the institution’s roll, ceases to be on a student visa and becomes liable to be deported,” he said.