Visas, surveillance and revocation: the tenuous status of international students in American higher education

In a climate of increased enforcement, international students have often found their visas revoked — without notification or warning. Foregrounded by the expansion of a vast surveillance infrastructure, education in the United States intersects with immigration enforcement. Focusing on the Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) – operated by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in conjunction with American higher education institutions (HEIs), this work examines the growth of surveillance in the pre- and post-9/11 contexts. Focusing on the F-1, J-1 and M-1 student and exchange visas, this article also uses the theme of dataveillance to explore how data assemblages are used to monitor student activity. Likewise, it discusses how the framing of international student education as a ‘national security’ issue continues to shape legality, enforcement and scrutiny of visa holders.