‘It’s unfair’: International PhD student at BYU speaks after his student visa was revoked
BYU PhD student Suguru Onda will not be deported according to a statement given to ABC.com by his lawyer.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Suguru Onda, a PhD student at Brigham Young University, is just one year shy of completing his program. However, after his student visa was revoked, he is unsure of what comes next for him and his family.
“I think it’s unfair,” Onda told ABC4.com. “At least they should notify us or reach out to us, or give us some explanation, but there’s nothing.”
On April 8, Onda said he got an email from BYU’s international student office notifying him that his status had changed, and he immediately went to speak with them in person: “The university didn’t get anything, I didn’t receive anything, so we just found out it is terminated.”
According to Adam Crayk, Onda’s attorney, the university was told that Onda’s criminal background was part of the reason for the change in his status. Crayk looked into Onda’s record and found two speeding tickets and a citation for fishing that was later dismissed in court.
“This is no longer about politics,” Crayk said. “This is an issue about right or wrong.”
Onda was told he and his family had two options: Go back to Japan within a couple of weeks, ask BYU to issue a new I-20 form, and reapply for an F-1 visa; or wait five to 12 months for his visa to be reinstated.
However, Crayk said asking BYU to reissue Onda’s I-20 form would bring in a “monitoring unit for student visas.” And, if they did that, Crayk said “we are admitting we did something wrong.” Crayk said new technology may have impacted the process of monitoring and revoking international students’ visas.
“Whether it’s tech, bot, algorithm, AI, they have a technology… there’s close to a million student visas, and so — for one person to monitor that it’s fairly difficult,” Crayk said. “But when you make a decision to revoke, you ought to at least have somebody check that.”
If Onda chooses to wait several months for his visa to be reinstated, he said he would not be able to work, but he may be able to stay in Utah. Onda and his family — including his wife and five children — hadn’t been back to Japan in two years, and they had a trip planned for this summer.
“If we have to leave in 15 days, then yeah, that plan is not going to work,” Onda said. “I just talked to my wife, and I don’t know what to do.”
Crayk said another potential option would be looking at filing a temporary restraining order in federal court. In that situation, a judge would review whether or not Onda had violated any of the terms of his student visa, and the judge could potentially reinstate Onda’s status.
“I know I’m not alone, and lots of international students was affected by this visa termination,” Onda said. “I really hope things get better.”
Onda said his main concern is his children and their education. He wants to continue to live in the U.S., finish his program, and work on a temporary OPT work program.
Since hearing the news, Onda said he and his family began packing for whatever comes next.
“Hopefully… things are sorted out soon. That’s what we want,” Onda said.
Onda said his main concern is his children and their education. He wants to continue to live in the U.S., finish his program, and work on a temporary OPT work program.
Since hearing the news, Onda said he and his family began packing for whatever comes next.
“Hopefully… things are sorted out soon. That’s what we want,” Onda said.
