State department now probing all visa holders at harvard — not just foreign students

WASHINGTON — The State Department is broadening its review of visa holders at Harvard University beyond the foreign student population, a senior official told The Post on Thursday. The

comprehensive investigation will consider F-1 visas for foreign students, B-1 visas for business-related visitors and B-2 visas for tourism, the State Department official confirmed. The

probe will focus on possible threats to US national security policy or other abuses of the visa system. The department’s wider review was first reported by Fox News after Secretary of State

Marco Rubio had announced visa revocations for foreign officials or persons censoring Americans and some Chinese students. The roughly 7,000 international Harvard undergrads were already

under the microscope due to what the State Department viewed as “pro-terrorist conduct” amid campus protests opposing Israel’s war in Gaza. EXPLORE MORE Foreign students hoping to enroll in

the Ivy League institution already had their visa status threatened by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — before the courts stepped in. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting

director Todd Lyons doubled down ahead of a hearing in Boston federal court Thursday by firing off a letter to Harvard issuing a formal notice that the Department of Homeland Security would

withdraw certification for the Student Exchange Visa Program (SEVP). An earlier letter from Noem cited Harvard leaders’ “brazen refusal” to provide DHS with information about foreign

students and said they fostered “an unsafe campus environment that is hostile to Jewish students, promotes pro-Hamas rhetoric, and employs racist ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’

policies.” Last week, a Harvard spokesperson declared the move “unlawful” and said administrators were “fully committed to maintaining Harvard’s ability to host our international students

and scholars.” Usually students must declare exclusive intent to attend Harvard by May 1, but the school has made exceptions for international students, allowing them to accept admission to

a foreign university in addition to Harvard for the 2025-26 school year. The Cambridge, Massachusetts, school had subsequently indicated a willingness to comply with some demands from the

Trump administration — but Noem said “it must change its ways to be eligible” for the program. “Harvard’s refusal to comply with SEVP oversight was the latest evidence that it disdains the

American people and takes for granted U.S. taxpayer benefits,” she said in a statement Thursday. The DHS honcho had previously threatened to pull Harvard’s visa certification due to

antisemitic demonstrations that have roiled the campus in recent years — as well as research collaborations with Chinese state-linked entities. Boston US District Judge Allison Burroughs

will rule later Thursday on whether Harvard can allow foreign students to begin enrolling for next semester. The Trump administration has also canceled more than $3 billion in federal grants

and other funding to the Ivy League institution, resulting in another legal challenge. Rubio has already revoked at least 4,000 visas from foreign nationals charged with criminal offenses,

a senior State Department official confirmed last month. “We’re going to continue to revoke the visas of people who are here as guests and are disrupting our higher education facilities,”

the secretary affirmed Tuesday. “A visa is a privilege, not a right.” The Post reached out to Harvard University reps for comment.