In New York
United States embassies across Africa issued a record-breaking number of 40,000 student visas to African applicants in 2023. This marked a 61 per cent increase from pre-pandemic levels according to the US State Department.
After Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana had the second and third largest increases in F-1 student visa issuance in Sub Saharan Africa.
While overall visa issuance numbers have increased, rejection rates also remain high. What has complicated matters for Kenyan students has been the Donald Trump administration's recent revocation 6,000 student visas.
This act has raised fear among the Kenyan student and faculty community in the US because students in the US risk deportation and arbitrary visa revocations based on nefarious government claims of anti-semitism or broad allegations of threats to national security.
An already arduous visa approvals process is complicated further by this revocation process from the US government.
Interviewing Kenyan students on this question elicits fear and silence. Many do not want to comment on the Trump administration's revocation of visas for fear of retribution, victimisation and deportation.
One Kenyan student, Jimmy Ochieng, who is a doctoral candidate in Media at Indiana University Bloomington stated: "I think the attempt at interfering with universities goes beyond targeting those involved in the protests. It is purposeful, systematic and targeted at university autonomy. It epitomises the waning power and influence of universities confronting the Trump Administration."
Kenyan media consultant Maurice Ndole, who was a student in California, says: "For countries like Kenya, which consistently rank among the top five African senders of students to the US, the impact is immediate and painful. Families invest everything in this dream, and suddenly you have students stranded, research disrupted, and aspirations cut short. It’s not just a visa issue. It’s a blow to mobility, knowledge exchange, and the very promise of education as a ladder up.”
Prof Eric Otenyo of Arizona State University's Political Science Department says that students need to be careful engaging in protests. “Universities rely on foreign students, especially in graduate school. With cancelations, the small graduate school programs will certainly close doors and wind up. African students will certainly be most impacted by the high fees and cancelations," he said.
Maurice Ndole goes on to highlight the chilling effect these visa cancelations have on university autonomy and free speech on university campuses.
"These visa revocations absolutely create a chilling effect. If students believe their visas can be snatched away for protesting or expressing unpopular views, they’ll self-censor. It turns American campuses, which should be the safest spaces for debate, into places of fear and silence. Universities need to push back. But they’re afraid," he says.
Ndole goes on to state that the US government's revoking visas on suspicion without due process is a dangerous precedent. It effectively punishes students before any wrongdoing is proven. It's not just unfair — it’s legally shaky. He expects lawsuits to follow. The issue of arbitrary visa revocations will almost certainly end up in the courts.
What is clear is that these visa revocations go beyond immigration policy. They strike at the heart of academic freedom.
Universities are meant to be autonomous spaces for free inquiry. When a government steps in to intimidate students or dictate who belongs on campus or what views are acceptable or not, it erodes that independence.
Critics of the visa revocations highlight the US loosing its soft power influence. The US is home to over one million international students. Many stay on after studies to create successful businesses, to work and contribute significantly to the US economy.
Students that return to their countries after studying in the US end up taking key positions in government in their countries - a significant boost to US networks and soft power leverage.
Most alarmingly for critics of the visa revocation policy is that the US is not the only game in town. China, Russia, India, the EU bloc and even other African countries are growing increasingly attractive for Kenyan students.
Students are shopping elsewhere tired of the arduous visa approval process to the US and acts like the recent visa revocations. The US remains an attractive option for excellent education.
However, the recent visa revocations pose a threat to that continuing into the near future.
