The State Department announced last week that it would “actively” revoke visas for Chinese students and review future applications in China and Hong Kong, with Chinese students in the United States questioning their future in the country.

Chinese students looking to study at Harvard, the oldest and richest university in the United States, are under special pressure after the Trump administration announced a ban on school enrollment on Wednesday. The president declared that Harvard's ties to China were a special reason for attracting attention.

For Jerry*, a 22-year-old applied mathematics student at the University of California, Los Angeles, the uncertainty began last month when the Trump administration suddenly stopped the ability to enroll any international student at Harvard.

Jerry has a place in Harvard’s Master of Health Data Science program, which will begin in the fall. The U.S. government's attempt to ban Harvard from accepting international students appears to be blocked by the court at least temporarily. But Trump's announcement on Wednesday invoked another legal body.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio Announcement of the authorities Specially targeted at Chinese students nationwide.

Jerry said it was “total discrimination.” "I don't think anyone would think that's enough. That's just pushing Chinese students to go somewhere else."

Not sure if he will be able to enroll at Harvard University, Jerry is considering occupancy of a PhD program at Oxford University in the UK. He said Thursday that Oxford appears to be more likely to choose after Trump’s latest attack on Harvard.

Although he hopes to study at Harvard, Jerry is lucky to have a backup plan. "Many people who accept Harvard have no other choice. Therefore, this must be more anxious about them."

Throughout the United States, universities have been scrambling to find ways to reassure thousands of Chinese students on campus about their academic future.

In a memorandum sent by Chinese students at the University of Oregon, the school described the State Department’s announcement on revoking visas to Chinese students “ambiguous” and said: “A revoked passport does not affect your legal status in the United States because it is just an input file used when entering the United States.” However, the university warns that a revoked visa could lead to a dismissal process by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Since the institution began targeting international students with legal retention in the country, warnings that being targeted by ice has had new gravity. These include Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil and Pro-Palestine activist who were detained despite living in the United States with green cards. Khalil is now fighting the deportation order.

Steven*, a 34-year-old Chinese doctoral student at the University of Oregon, said that although he does not intend to apply for a new student visa as soon as possible, it is related to the prospect of an ice encounter. “Now, even if you have a green card, your identity is legal and you can be caught by ice because these guys are crazy”.

Steven has been in the United States for ten years. He said that at that time, the United States had become a less attractive destination for Chinese students, and what he saw in his part-time job helped Chinese students apply for college. The number of people who want to study in the United States has declined, and people like Southeast Asian countries, such as Singapore, which are more culturally similar to China. Steven said the United States is no longer so friendly.

Experts say that the losses of top Chinese students in the United States will be a blow to academic research and funding for higher education institutions.

According to government statistics, there were about 277,400 Chinese students in the United States during the 2023-2024 academic year. That's 25% compared to 2019-2020.

“By banning Chinese students and scholars, the Trump administration will stifle the pipeline of high-end talents into our universities, companies and research institutions, triggering a serious deficit in talent and expertise that will undermine the competitiveness of the United States,” said Denis Simon, a non-resident researcher at the Quincy Institute, who specializes in China’s scientific and technological policies.

The State Council announcement last week pointed out that students who have ties to the Communist Party of China (CCP) or study in "key areas" will be included in the visa crackdown.

For years, the United States has been trying to root China's espionage and has raised concerns over CCP-backed programs to recruit top talent in the fields of science and technology that are strategically important to China. But scholars and activists say this has fallen into racism, with all Chinese researchers or researchers on Chinese heritage coming under suspicion.

Mathematics student Jerry said he had experienced discrimination in the United States but had not experienced discrimination on campus. But if Chinese researchers, employees and doctoral students think they have to leave the U.S. due to an increasingly hostile environment, “it will be a disaster for American universities,” he said.

*The name has been changed

Other research by Lillian Yang