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Journalism of Courage
WHY NOW?
The ongoing stand-off between Harvard University and the US government under President Donald Trump escalated on Friday (May 23), when the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revoked its ability to enrol foreign students.
Kristi Noem, Secretary of the DHS, posted a letter on X, announcing the decision to revoke the university’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, which is key to the entry and residence of foreign students. Harvard, which ranks among the world’s premier higher education institutions, has legally challenged the decision.
The US government’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) collects and maintains information so that only “legitimate foreign students or exchange visitors gain entry to the United States,” its website states.
It also ensures that the institutions accepting non-immigrant students (people living there temporarily) are certified and follow government regulations.
Another important element of the process is the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), an online information system that maintains and allows monitoring of records like SEVP-certified schools, students holding relevant visas, etc. Thus, the revocation also matters for students already enrolled at Harvard, and they would have to transfer to another institution.
The SEVP holds information about non-immigrant students in the following visa categories:
*F-1 STUDENTS – Non-immigrant students whose primary purpose is to complete an academic course of study at an SEVP-certified school or program.
*M-1 STUDENTS – Non-immigrant students whose primary purpose is to complete a vocational course of study at an SEVP-certified school or program.
*J-1 EXCHANGE VISITORS – Non-immigrant students selected to participate in a US Department of State-designated exchange visitor program.
SEVP certification allows institutions to issue Forms I-20, which is a “Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status”. These can be issued to prospective international students after admitting them into a program of study. Prospective international students then use the Form I-20 to apply for a visa to enter the United States.
After receiving Form I-20, students must pay the I-901 SEVIS Fee before applying for their US student visa. The receipt of that payment must be presented as proof when one applies for a visa.
Once the payment is done and the receipt is collected, students must apply for a visa at any US Embassy or Consulate in their country.
However, a visa does not guarantee entrance to the United States; it only permits students “to arrive and seek permission to enter the country”, the DHS website says. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at the US port of entry has the final authority to admit entry into the country.
In her May 22 letter, Noem referred to an April 16 letter to the university, where she demanded Harvard provide information about the “criminality and misconduct of foreign students on its campus.” The refusal to comply would result in SEVP termination, she warned at the time.
The latest letter includes six stringent requirements to reinstate the SEVP certification within 72 hours. For instance, one asks for “Any and all audio or video footage in the possession of Harvard University of any protest activity involving a non-immigrant student on a Harvard University campus in the last five years.”
The stand-off follows large-scale protests on college campuses against Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip since 2023, deemed “anti-Semitic” by the US government.
