The Trump administration has revoked visas for over 25 international students at universities in the St. Louis area, including St. Louis University and Webster University, as well as terminated the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records of select international students at WashU as reported by local news outlets on Tuesday, April 15. The government-run SEVIS database tracks information about non-immigrant students in the US, including their visa status.  

Julie Flory, vice chancellor for marketing and communications at WashU, confirmed that an unspecified number of international students at the school have been impacted by the SEVIS record terminations, but declined to provide additional details.

While SEVIS record terminations are not the same as visa terminations, it makes the student ineligible to stay in the U.S., work, or re-enter unless they reapply. At other universities, international students who have had their SEVIS record terminated have soon after received emails from the federal government that their visas were revoked, which means they can be deported.  

Flory added that the WashU Office of International Student Scholars (OISS) is working closely with affected students. The OISS did not respond to requests for comment as of the publication of this article. 

According to WashU’s 2025 Spring semester enrollment records, international students compose 9.1% of the undergraduate population and 40.1% of the graduate population of the school, which translates to around a quarter of the student body. 

Last Wednesday, April 9, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Beverly Wendland sent an email to the WashU community affirming support for international students during this time. 

“We are a global academic community and it would do a tremendous disservice to our robust, innovative thinking and creativity if we were to lose any of our international students, scholars or staff members who make important contributions every day to advance our mission in support of education, research and patient care,” Wendland wrote in the email. 

Wendland highlighted that the OISS offers a variety of support for international students including weekly webinars about traveling either within or outside of the US and other informational events, as well as having staff on call 24/7 for emergency situations. 

Throughout the US, over 1,000 international students have had their visas revoked or statuses changed; however, the reasoning behind the revocations of many visas and the changing of statuses remains unclear. While some international students have been impacted due to participation in pro-Palestine demonstrations, others have been impacted due to criminal infractions or traffic violations.  

Wendland added that the University has been advocating politically on behalf of international students.  

“We are engaged with our elected officials to educate them about our positive impact on society and to encourage them to stand up for WashU, higher education and our academic community, including our international students and scholars,” Wendland wrote in the email.