Visa uncertainty reaches daily life
International student-workers at UC Berkeley said escalating federal immigration enforcement has made daily life precarious. Rahoul Banerjee Ghosh, a graduate student researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who came to the U.S. from India, said they had not felt at risk in the country until the past year.
“Appointments are canceled and rules are changing every day,” Banerjee Ghosh said. “It’s an ever-present thought: Will I be able to continue my degree, continue the life I’ve built here?”
Banerjee Ghosh, whose research focuses on new materials for energy storage and generation, said they have already missed opportunities to travel to scientific conferences in Europe. They also said they fear that an upcoming visa renewal could be delayed or rejected, leaving them outside the United States without their passport.
The Trump administration this past spring abruptly canceled 23 visas for UC Berkeley students and recent graduates before reinstating them weeks later. The administration has also arrested and sought to deport pro-Palestinian international students who were legally in the country, required visa applicants to make their social media profiles public for State Department review for what officials described as hostility to the United States, and proposed limiting students’ visa terms to four years rather than the duration required to complete a degree.
Office funding faces expiration
The Berkeley International Office, which provides visa assistance and advising to students on campus, faces its own budget pressures that compound the strain. About $700,000 per year in student service fees allocated to the office by former Chancellor Carol Christ is set to expire after the current school year, according to Rayne Xue, a student government senator who advocates for international students.
“The advisors are definitely spending more time tracking federal legislation and policy updates,” Xue said. “They’re supporting and helping out with more students that are more frustrated than ever before.”
The University of California already spends about $3 million per year on legal services for immigrant students through its Immigrant Legal Services Center. A separate UC Berkeley program, run in partnership with the East Bay Community Law Center, serves primarily students who lack authorization to be in the country.
Precedent at other institutions
The demand for legal support in higher education labor contracts is unusual but not without precedent. Johns Hopkins University signed a contract with its teaching assistants in 2024 that gives international employees up to two weeks of paid time off to renew visas and established a fund workers can use to help cover visa fees.
The union and UC have already reached tentative agreement on some immigration-related protections. Under the preliminary terms, administrators will not disclose an employee’s immigration status without consent absent a warrant or subpoena, and the university will notify the union if federal immigration agents arrive on campus.
Reporting by Felicia Mello, originally published by Berkeleyside and distributed by The Associated Press.