Listen Here
By Pulse Staff
University of Findlay president, Dr. Katherine Fell, released a statement via email today about the ongoing issues with visas for international college students and it implies there have been a least some possible visa terminations at UF.
Her email states:
Dear Oilers,
I am writing to share an update regarding international students in higher education. You may have seen recent reports of student F-1 visas being revoked at Ohio institutions and elsewhere in the United States. Over the past several weeks, the University of Findlay has experienced a minimal number of possible visa terminations.
Please know that senior administration continues to monitor this situation and to follow the advice of legal counsel. To that point, we have crafted protocol (see attached) in the event that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents visit campus.
Providing all our students with the support and care they need to learn and be successful continues to be the ongoing work of University of Findlay. We will carry on with that responsibility knowing we are not alone in navigating the uncertainties of the current time.
Sincerely,
Katherine Fell, Ph.D.
President
The email also includes instructions for UF employees from the UF Cabinet about steps to take if Immigration Customs Enforcement agents come to campus. It includes staying calm, contacting Laurita right away, and no physical confrontations with the agents.
The Washington Post recently reported that nation-wide “International students say they are deleting social media, keeping their views to themselves and staying on campus to avoid being deported.”
An April 10 news release from https://www.nafsa.org/ states that “as of April 10, there have been almost 1,300 reports of international students and scholars either having their visa revoked and/or their record in SEVIS terminated.”
SEVIS is a web-based system for maintaining information on nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors in the United States according to ice.gov.
According to NAFSA “Undergraduate, graduate, and Optional Practical Training (OPT)/STEM OPT students are affected.
There is no clear pattern or trend in the nationalities of the affected students. Students from all regions of the world are being affected.
The visa revocations and SEVIS record terminations are happening to students at all types of higher education institutions, from community colleges to R-1 research institutions, and in all regions of the United States.
The U.S. for Success Coalition, of which NAFSA is a founding member, is calling on Congress to press the administration to avoid immigration actions and travel restrictions that jeopardize America’s global strength in attracting the world’s best and brightest to U.S. colleges and universities. New survey results show that interest in U.S. postgraduate education has plunged 40 percent since January 2025 while there is rising interest in Germany, France, and China as a study destination.”
According to The University’s Student Diversity report on its website from the spring 2025 semester, 7.97% of the UF population, or a little more than 300 students are non-U.S. residents.
