Duke University Faces Visa Terminations for Two Graduate Students and Alumnus

April 7, 2025 – Duke University is grappling with a sudden immigration shakeup as the U.S. government has terminated the visas of two graduate students and one alumnus on Optional Practical Training (OPT). The news, first reported by The Duke Chronicle, has sent ripples through the campus community, highlighting the precarious status of international students and scholars in an evolving policy landscape.

According to an email sent to international students on Monday morning by Kevin D'Arco, senior associate dean of international students, and Dylan Sugiyama, director of Duke Visa Services (DVS), the U.S. Department of State informed the affected individuals that their F-1 visas were revoked. Shortly after, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) terminated their records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). This abrupt action means the students can no longer legally study at Duke, and the alumnus, who was working under OPT, is barred from employment in the U.S.

What's particularly unsettling? The federal government provided no explanation for the revocations. Duke officials emphasized they were neither involved nor directly notified of the decisions, leaving the university and its affected members scrambling for answers. "As a result of the termination of the visa status, the students are not legally able to continue their studies at Duke or to work in the U.S.," D'Arco and Sugiyama wrote, per The Duke Chronicle.

For Duke's international community—comprising over 3,000 students—this is a stark reminder of the fragility of visa-dependent academic and professional pursuits. The university is stepping up, with DVS meeting the affected students to offer guidance and launching daily SEVIS record reviews to catch any further changes. "Duke is committed to assisting our international community to the limit of the law," the administrators pledged. The students are now consulting immigration attorneys, while arrangements are being made for them to continue their programs remotely from their home countries.

The timing couldn't be more critical. With Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently noting that 300 visas have been revoked since the Trump administration took office, this incident at Duke joins a growing list of similar cases at institutions like Columbia, Harvard, and Stanford. To address mounting concerns, Duke's Pratt School of Engineering is hosting a closed forum tonight at 7 p.m. for graduate and postdoctoral students, featuring D'Arco and Sugiyama.

For Duke students watching this unfold, it's a sobering moment. The university's global reputation relies heavily on its international talent, and this disruption underscores the real-world stakes of immigration policy.