Trump’s Mandate on Student Visas: What does it mean for Graduating Ashokans?

On 27th May 2025, the Trump administration issued a mandate to pause processing of student visas and increase social media screening and vetting for international student applicants. The Edict spoke to graduating Ashoka students considering postgraduate studies in the United States of America (U.S.), exploring the impact of these developments on them. 

This mandate comes amidst a crackdown on educational institutions in the U.S, pressuring universities to change the way they budget, operate, and admit applicants. The mandate also aims to increase social media screening, with students being required to share their social media handles for scrutiny on involvement in protests or other political activity. 

The decisions of several students who had received offers from U.S. universities have been affected—while some are considering alternative options, others remain firm in their decision despite the uncertainty. Recent Ashoka graduate Darshit Saini* mentioned that he has “shifted goals for the moment,” and is “going to take this year off and apply next year [and is] considering applying to the U.S. next year.”

Saini cited difficulties in obtaining student loans and education funding alongside the visa. While his decision was largely financial, various safety concerns also influenced his decision: “I did not want to spend this much money to go to a place where I would not be 100 percent safe.” 

Ashoka student Reyansh Jain* stated that he has not wavered from [studying in the U.S.] as the discipline he wants to pursue “is not feasible in India and Europe, and [he] did not apply to Canada." Vivaan Arora*, having been accepted into his desired programme, is unsure of whether or not he will be able to go, as he has not received a visa yet and is currently unable to secure an appointment. He said that even if he does eventually get one, it may not be in time for his semester to start. “My plan is to get a PhD and get into academia. If I don’t have that, I don’t know what I’ll do,” he added.

The timing of the new mandate was at a crucial phase for the recent graduating batch, many of whose plans have been derailed, resulting in several social and psychological impacts. Arora spoke to The Edict about mental pressures he faced after working to get into competitive programmes and preparing documents, only to have his career path indefinitely halted by the inability to schedule a visa appointment: “I thought right now I would have everything in order,” Arora shared. 

Other students cited social difficulties as a result of an instant freeze in career plans, saying their ability to socialise and communicate, and stay in touch with people is affected. For Jain, it has “provoked a lot of uncertainty and fear”; however, he believes that it is just a temporary freeze and he is “hearing rumours that they are going to unfreeze it soon”.

Students also said that universities in the U.S. and professors at Ashoka have been supportive amid these events. Jain said that the university he applied to has been proactive in reaching out to him, and was “friendly and warm” in their interactions. Jain’s prospective university informed its students that arrangements would be made to attend classes online if they got their visas late. 

Three other students mentioned that U.S. universities have also been hosting online sessions to help secure their visas amidst more stringent vetting, preemptively contacting students about their visa status. Jain said he had enough avenues to reach out to the university where he got accepted. 

Saini, who is no longer considering universities in the U.S. this year, said that individual faculty members at Ashoka have also helped him explore alternative plans. A professor supported him in applying for teaching fellow positions and research assistantships. 

Arora also shared that post-graduate and PhD programs in the U.S. have already been suffering under the Trump administration, mentioning that cohort sizes for some programs have decreased to 50% of their original size. He feels that the Trump administration's previous policies this year contributed to educational institutions in the U.S. being understanding of his and other students’ visa issues.

When asked about their perspective on the ongoing social media vetting, Saanvi Mahajan was skeptical of the mandate’s notion of security. “It’s not like the surveillance is amounting to anything that is relevant to national security. It’s more the administration looking at what aligns with their political preferences.”  

When asked about Trump’s decisions, Jain said that the mandate “is intended for two things: to make Trump happy and to provoke fear and anxiety to drive down the number of people coming to America for graduate education and education in general.”

Arora similarly noted concern over the recent crackdown against pro-Palestine demonstrations in the U.S., potentially pointing towards a politically motivated screening process in the name of security. “They’re not even trying to hide it”, he said. Saini also expressed his fear about recent events as he continued to “hear stories of students protesting getting detained and getting into trouble for posting on social media.”

For some students, pursuing further education in the U.S. also presents a moral question of staking their voices and views against the chance to receive the best possible education. According to Arora, “students are going to protest, that’s what universities are for,” and continued saying that the U.S. government is possibly afraid of student voices in protest. 

Some students said they felt constrained by the measures: Arora has not posted on social media for over a year due to the fear of his visa getting revoked. Saini felt that the policy is "pointless and hateful,” and that it’s “not helping the U.S either”. He emphasized that international students, selected on merit, play a crucial role in research that ultimately supports government interests in the U.S. Mahajan said that they are “disincentivising some of the smartest people around the world to come to the U.S. and contribute to their economy, to their research”. 

The Ashoka administration has not sent out any statement regarding the recent mandate. As of 17th June, Ashoka has opened a Special Admissions round for its 2025-2029 undergraduate batch, open only to students with U.S. university offers; the university has also opened transfer admissions for students already studying there. These measures will accommodate students who are either unable to accept their U.S. university offers due to the new visa mandate or students with visas who may choose not to pursue their undergraduate education there.

*Pseudonyms have been used to protect the privacy of the individuals.