News

In Fight Against Trump, Harvard Goes From Media Lockdown to the Limelight

News

The Changing Meaning and Lasting Power of the Harvard Name

News

Can Harvard Bring Students’ Focus Back to the Classroom?

News

Harvard Activists Have a New Reason To Protest. Does Palestine Fit In?

News

Strings Attached: How Harvard’s Wealthiest Alumni Are Reshaping University Giving

Harvard Visa Applicants Face Stricter Screening, Delays, and Sudden Disruptions Under Trump’s Orders

International arrivals and departures pass through Terminal E in the Boston Logan International Airport. In embassies and at Logan, international students and researchers coming to Harvard have faced disruptions amid the Trump administration's crackdown.
International arrivals and departures pass through Terminal E in the Boston Logan International Airport. In embassies and at Logan, international students and researchers coming to Harvard have faced disruptions amid the Trump administration's crackdown. By MyeongSeo Kim
By Samuel A. Church and Cam N. Srivastava, Crimson Staff Writers

Updated June 6, 2025, at 10:05 a.m.

At least 10 incoming Harvard students and scholars had visa applications refused for “administrative processing”after the Trump administration revoked the University’s authorization to enroll international students — and others have experienced delays as the government tightens its vetting of Harvard students.

The students’ experiences were described in an amended complaint Harvard filed Thursday in its lawsuit fighting the efforts.

The 101-page document, which Harvard submitted after President Donald Trump’s Wednesday proclamation barring incoming international students from entering the country to study at Harvard, argued that the uncertainty had destabilized the futures of a quarter of its student body.

And it showed how the Trump administration’s actions have already begun to complicate the process of attending Harvard from abroad, subjecting would-be Harvard students to heightened scrutiny and sudden setbacks.

“Too many international students to count” have asked about transferring out of Harvard, and at least three current domestic students have shown “serious interest” in transferring rather than staying at Harvard without their international peers, the filing stated. One international student planning to pursue a Physics graduate degree decided to transfer rather than hold onto a precarious position at Harvard.

The Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification on May 22, alleging that Harvard had failed to comply with a records request regarding international students’ illegal or dangerous activity. Harvard filed a lawsuit the next day, alleging the revocation violated the First Amendment, and was granted a temporary restraining order hours later.

But even after the block, many international students found that the SEVP revocation had disrupted their visa process, according to Harvard’s amended complaint. Students and researchers at United States embassies in São Paulo, Prague, Bern, and Milan were told that their visa applications were refused in connection with the SEVP revocation.

Starting on May 23, the Harvard International Office received reports of Customs and Border Protection agents at Boston Logan International Airport making only Harvard visa holders go through secondary inspections to receive entry.

And some incoming students whose visa applications had already been approved found out that their visas had suddenly been revoked after the DHS pulled Harvard’s certification.

One incoming Harvard College student who had her visa approved at a U.S. embassy in Madrid on May 22 found out the next day that her application had been denied because the SEVP revocation occurred before the visa could be printed. She was told she had a year to update her application by providing documentation from another school.

Temporarily stymied in court, the Trump administration turned to new tactics to target Harvard’s international students. On May 31, the State Department instructed embassies and consulates to step up social media vetting of incoming Harvard students — asking them to screen visa applicants’ accounts for antisemitism and consider whether students who kept their accounts private had something to hide.

Harvard’s complaint shows that visa applicants reported delays in processing under the new screening directive, which the State Department described as a pilot program that could later be expanded to other colleges.

Consular staff are asking visa applicants and their spouses to disclose their social media handles to enable the reviews, according to Harvard’s filing.

One affiliate applying for a J visa had to disclose his social media account handles and go through four interviews at the U.S. consulate in São Paulo before obtaining the visa. An incoming student reported undergoing additional review even as they watched visa applicants planning to attend other universities move through the process smoothly.

Several foreign consulates have contacted Harvard to ask how the SEVP revocation “affects the welfare of students and scholars from their countries,” according to the complaint.

—Staff writer Samuel A. Church can be reached at samuel.church@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @samuelachurch.

—Staff writer Cam N. Srivastava can be reached at cam.srivastava@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @camsrivastava.

Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter.

Tags
PoliticsUniversityTrumpInternational StudentsFront Photo FeatureGlobal HarvardImmigrationLawsuits