'If you’re a guest in our country – act like it': USCIS warns Green cards will be revoked if...

The USCIS, under the Trump administration has issued warnings about visa and Green Card privileges, laying out grounds on which an ‘alien’s visa or green card can be revoked'

Sudeshna Ghoshal
Updated2 May 2025, 11:17 PM IST
From January to September 2024, Indian students received 64,008 US F-1 visas, representing a sharp 38% decline from 2023's 1,03,495. (HT photo)
From January to September 2024, Indian students received 64,008 US F-1 visas, representing a sharp 38% decline from 2023's 1,03,495. (HT photo)

Donald Trump administrations' series of federal cuts, tariff threats, ongoing deportations had already caused the POTUS to receive the lowest approval rating in years. Amid all this, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has now announced a new warning, asking green card holders to abide by the “laws and values” of the US.

USCIS' warning

Claiming that receiving a visa or a green card from the US is a "privilege, " the USCIS issued a stern warning on X:

“Green cards and visas will be revoked if an alien breaks the law.”

Also Read | Trump Administration Backtracks on Revoking Student Visas

“Coming to America and receiving a visa or green card is a privilege. Our laws and values must be respected. If you advocate for violence, endorse or support terrorist activity, or encourage others to do so, you are no longer eligible to stay in the US,” the Immigration Department added further.

As reported by Newsweek, the latest warning follows a tougher immigration push by the Trump administration. What’s striking is that it’s not just aimed at undocumented immigrants — even legal residents in the US could be affected by the expanded enforcement measures, as per the media outlet.

Visa revocations can lead to legal status terminations

On April 30, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement indicated that it could start terminating a person’s legal status because of visa revocation, reported NBC News, citing an internal memo.

Also Read | US visa not needed? Citizens from THESE countries can stay in America visa-free

According to the NBC News report, the memo from the Student and Exchange Visitor Program — part of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) —revealed an expanded list of criteria for ICE to terminate foreign-born students’ legal status in the US.

Also Read | Trump takes U-turn, restores visa registrations for thousands of int'l students

Until the internal memo was released, international students could lose their legal status in the US for reasons like dropping out of school, losing work authorisation, or committing certain crimes — but they usually had the right to due process first, according to attorneys. Under the new memo, however, a visa revocation alone is enough to immediately terminate a student’s legal status, reported NBC news.

‘Green Card a privilege, not a right’

Continuing in the same thread as the earlier warning, the USCIS issued further warnings, reiterating the department's claims that Green Cards and visas “are a privilege.”

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First Published:2 May 2025, 11:17 PM IST