RI School Of Design Student's Visa Revoked, School Officials Say

PROVIDENCE, RI — An international student at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) had their visa revoked by the U.S. Government, College President Crystal Williams said Monday.

In an email sent to the school community, Williams said the RISD Office of International Students and Scholar Affairs learned the student's visa status was changed to "terminated" during a routine review of records.

Williams said the committee wrote to the student and offered to help identify possible legal resources and support the student as much as possible. School officials did not release the student's name to protect their privacy.

"Although we have not been told the reason for the terminated status, we know that other international students and scholars in the United States are experiencing similar changes to their statuses with no clear specific reason(s) given for the terminations," Williams said in the email. "In fact, more than 300 international students nationwide have had their international student statuses revoked in recent days."

Reasons were not given for this specific revocation, but federal officials have revoked more than 300 visas, many belonging to students that have criticized the U.S. and Israel governments regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

"Once you've lost your visa, you're no longer legally to be in the United States, and we have a right like every country in the world has a right to remove you from our country," Rubio told NBC News.

Prior to spring break, Williams encouraged international students to "seriously consider, revise, or postpone" any travel plans that will require re-entry into the United States.

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