Kseniia Petrova, a Russian national and researcher at Harvard Medical School, found herself in a dire situation after failing to declare non-hazardous frog embryos upon her return to the United States from France in February. Petrova's attorney, Greg Romanovsky, explained that this oversight led to the revocation of her exchange visitor visa rather than a mere fine, resulting in her detention.
Romanovsky criticized the actions taken against Petrova, describing the punishment as “grossly disproportionate” to the circumstances. He characterized the mistake on the customs form as “inadvertent.” Although CNN reached out for comments from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the department informed ABC News that messages found on Petrova's phone indicated she had intentions of smuggling the materials through customs without declaring them.
Currently, Petrova is being held in a detention facility operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Louisiana. She is awaiting a hearing on June 9, which could result in her deportation back to Russia. Romanovsky has expressed concerns for Petrova's safety, stating that she would face immediate arrest due to her outspoken opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine if returned.
“Her detention is not only unnecessary but unjust,” Romanovsky asserted, illustrating the severe consequences faced by individuals like Petrova. CNN's investigation has revealed that over 250 students, faculty, and researchers have had their visas revoked this year alone. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also highlighted that the State Department revoked more than 300 visas, primarily targeting student visas.
While early high-profile cases often involved individuals accused of supporting terrorist organizations, such as Mahmoud Khalil during pro-Palestinian protests, recent trends indicate a shift. Increasingly, student visa revocations are linked to relatively minor offenses or, in some cases, no clear reason at all, according to immigration attorneys.
This targeting of foreign nationals associated with prestigious American universities coincides with the Trump administration's broader immigration enforcement strategies, which have included declarations of certain migrants as gang members, allowing for expedited deportations without hearings.
Jeff Joseph, the president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, noted that the tools available under immigration statutes have historically been used, but the current application creates chaos and panic among students and foreign nationals, deterring them from seeking legal counsel.
Visa revocation is a significant issue for students in the US, as immigration attorney David Wilson explained. A visa serves as a key for legal entry into the US, but forcing individuals to leave immediately, especially during an academic term, is a different matter. Wilson likened it to starting a car and then being told to exit while still on the street.
This very distinction is central to a lawsuit filed by Xiaotian Liu, a Chinese graduate researcher at Dartmouth. Liu is seeking a temporary restraining order against the government after his F-1 student visa was revoked without explanation. His attorneys argue that Liu has not committed any crimes, yet the fear of deportation looms.
In many instances, immigration arrests occur without warning. For example, Doğukan Günaydin, a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, was detained by ICE due to a prior drunk driving conviction. His attorney revealed that Günaydin's visa revocation was not official until after he was already taken into custody while heading to class.
Wilson noted that while DUI can be grounds for visa revocation, it is unusual for such infractions to lead to immediate deportation. The process of revoking visas is typically managed by the State Department, which has remained largely silent on specific cases.
The uncertainty surrounding visa revocations has created a climate of fear within the international student community. Many students express anxiety about their legal status and the potential for abrupt deportation. One anonymous student shared, “We feel anxiety because we don’t know what’s going to happen. People could be targeted without being related to something.”
Some individuals have been advised to “self-deport” rather than challenge their deportation in court, further highlighting the pressures faced by students with revoked visas. The recent rebranding of the CBP One app to “CBP Home” aims to facilitate voluntary departures, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem encouraging individuals to leave before facing potential detention.
The current landscape of immigration enforcement and visa revocations in the United States has raised significant concerns among students, faculty, and immigration attorneys. The rapid and often opaque processes surrounding these actions can lead to life-altering consequences for those affected. As cases like that of Kseniia Petrova and others unfold, the need for transparency and justice in immigration policy has never been more critical.
