Dreams cut short, Chinese students anxious and angry over ‘aggressive’ US visa ban plans

Kiwi Zhang, a computer science student from China, was full of hope for his academic future in the United States – until his visa was revoked at the US border last week. The first-year PhD student at a university in central US had just presented his research at a conference in Asia. He was returning to the US after a brief visit home when his American dream was abruptly cut short. According to Zhang, he was detained at the border for 48 hours by US officials, who confiscated his phone and laptop, and searched his belongings. He said they questioned him about his ties to the Chinese Communist Party and meetings with friends while in China. At the end of the interrogation, Zhang said he was deported and barred from the US for five years, on suspicion of having shared his research with the Chinese government – an allegation he denies. He is now back in China and mulling his next steps. “I never imagined this could happen to me,” said Zhang, who – like everyone CNN spoke to for this story – asked to use a pseudonym out of fear of retaliation. “I didn’t know things would get this extreme after Donald Trump returned to office. His administration is jeopardizing my academic future, and I feel powerless to defend my rights.” Now, many Chinese students studying in the US fear they could meet the same fate, after President Trump’s administration vowed on Wednesday to “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.” The announcement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio was brief and vaguely worded, but it sent shock waves through China, triggering widespread confusion, anxiety and fear among current and prospective students and their families, as well as strong opposition from Beijing. Student chat groups lit up with messages of disbelief. Education consultants were flooded with panicked phone calls. Many students aired their frustration and anger on social media. At a regular news conference Thursday, China’s foreign ministry accused the Trump administration of using ideology and national security as a “pretext” for the “politically motivated and discriminatory” move. Suddenly, hundreds of thousands of young Chinese minds, drawn by the prestige of a world-class education and the allure of the American dream, found themselves facing a stark reality: the future they had worked so hard for now hangs in the balance, held hostage by the whims of a US administration that increasingly views them – and their homeland – as a threat. “What strikes me is how tiny individuals are in the tide of history – career plans can collapse overnight,” said Joyce, who received an offer from her dream school, Harvard, to pursue a master’s degree in architecture. Her visa from her undergraduate program in the US is still valid for another year, but she did not dare to return to China for the summer, worrying that she might be denied reentry at the US border. “I can’t help wishing I’d grown up in a golden age of US-China relations,” she said. Growing mistrust For decades, China’s brightest minds have flocked to America, as their home country played catch-up with the world’s leading superpower. Until last year, Chinese students made up the largest group of international students in the US, contributing significantly to the economy and helping America maintain its competitive edge in scientific research and technological innovation. But as strategic rivalry between the two nations intensifies, mistrust has deepened. Both sides have ramped up national security measures and grown more protective of their advanced technologies – particularly in sensitive sectors with military implications. During his first term in 2020, Trump introduced a ban that effectively denied US visas to graduates in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields from Chinese universities believed to be linked to the military. Within just three months, more than 1,000 Chinese nationals had their visas revoked, and the order remained in place under former President Joe Biden. It’s unclear how quickly or widely the new revocations will be carried out. But the fear is palpable in CNN’s interviews with Chinese students. Studying in a country that has long held itself up as a beacon of freedom, many were too afraid to speak openly under their real names – a fear all too familiar to those back in China. They include David Yang, whose heart sank when he saw Rubio’s announcement. “This is just too surreal,” said the second-year PhD student in theoretical chemistry at a top university in the Midwestern US. “When the news broke, some classmates said they were working on their final assignments but completely lost the motivation to continue. I felt the same way,” he said. In recent weeks, Yang has found it nearly impossible to focus on his research, simulating how molecules interact with each other in the human body. Instead, he’s been glued to the news, anxiously tracking Trump’s escalating war on elite universities and international students, trying to gauge whether he might land in the crossfire. Last week, the Trump administration barred Harvard University from enrolling international students, accusing the prestigious institution of “coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party,” among other allegations. Although a federal court has since blocked the move, the State Department soon followed with a diplomatic cable instructing US embassies and consulates worldwide to halt new student visa appointments. As Yang scrolled through the headlines, periods of anxiety would suddenly hit, and he found himself compulsively refreshing news sites over and over. “I felt sad, lost and helpless. It’s been incredibly stressful,” he said. “The constant policy changes bring so much uncertainty into our lives. It really impacts productivity and, over time, takes a toll on your mental health – and for me, it already has.” Worried about his visa, Yang is planning on canceling his trip home this winter. His major could well fall under what Rubio called “critical fields” and – like millions of Chinese students – he’s a member of the Communist Youth League, a youth branch of the 99-million-strong Communist Party for those aged between 14 and 28. In China, most students are Youth League members by the time they finish high school, or have party members among family and friends – thanks to the party’s ubiquity across government and business, as well as cultural and social sectors. “The vast majority of people in China have some connection to the Communist Party – so this is essentially the same as condemning all Chinese students with a single stroke,” Yang said. Zhang, the student whose visa was revoked at the border, said US officials asked whether anyone in his family was a member of the Communist Party. He told them both of his parents were. They then questioned him about his own affiliation with the Communist Youth League, he said. “I said I’ve never had any connection with them. The Communist Youth League charges us seven or eight yuan (about $1) a year, but there are no activities at all. But the officials said: ‘You are lying.’ I honestly didn’t know what to say. I could only sit there, stunned,” Zhang said. Other alternatives Facing potential deportation in the middle of their hard-won education, some Chinese students are considering other options. Ella Liu, a math undergraduate at the University of Michigan, is visiting family in the southern city of Guangzhou before her summer research project in the US starts next month. “Me and my parents are all praying that I won’t be banned from entering the country in June,” she said. Liu was drawn to the US by its academic freedom and resources. But if the hardline visa policy continues, she might consider transferring to another university in Europe or Hong Kong. “I am very determined to study mathematics and there are also many excellent math resources in other countries, such as in France,” she said. Like many Chinese students, Liu comes from a middle-class family. Her parents saved for years for her to attend college in the US, where tuition and living costs can run to more than $80,000 – much more than getting a degree in Europe or Asia. Some Chinese students are already looking elsewhere. In recent years, the number of Chinese students in the US has steadily declined from a peak in the 2019-2020 school year – a drop that coincides with the Covid-19 pandemic but also increasing friction between the two governments. Nelson Urena Jr., co-founder and director of college counseling at an education management firm in Shanghai, said that for years many Chinese families saw American universities as the “gold standard” for college education. Since around 2018, however, he has noticed more interest from students and parents alike in universities in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, as well as the semi-autonomous Chinese city of Hong Kong. “A lot of families were concerned legitimately about their children’s safety, and then also just the rhetoric of, you know, whether they’re welcome in the US,” he said, citing issues such as gun violence and racist hostility or even violence against Asian people. “More recently, I think people are starting to see the growing disconnect between the US and China, and feeling like maybe things are going to be more difficult for them – from getting the visa to making payments for tuitions.” Rubio’s announcement Wednesday also vowed to “revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications” from China, including Hong Kong. Since then, Urena has been inundated by phone calls from anxious students preparing to start their college education in the US. But he didn’t have a ready response for them. “It’s just a lot of uncertainty right now. The students are trying to figure out what to do…The options are very limited at this point – Do they do a gap year? Do they go to university elsewhere? Do they have to go back to the application process?” he said. Nevertheless, for some Chinese parents, the allure of American higher education has not worn off. Arno Huang, a 56-year-old businessman from China’s coastal Fujian province, still wants to send his kids to the US for graduate schools after they finish undergraduate studies in Hong Kong. “The US represents one of the most civilized, developed, and open places for humanity. Although US-China relations are currently strained, smart people still recognize this fact,” said Huang. Having kids studying in the US gives a family “face,” he said, using a common Chinese phrase to refer to good reputation or social standing. “Once their child is in the US, they can proudly tell others, ‘Look how successful my son is!’” Zichen Wang, a research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, a non-government think tank in Beijing, lamented a seemingly bygone era, when Chinese officials, entrepreneurs and scientists alike were trained in the US – especially those who played key roles during China’s reform and opening-up era that began in 1978. “When they returned to China, they brought back not only professional knowledge and credentials, but also a deep respect and admiration for America as an open and inclusive society,” he said. “I believe many Chinese people see what makes America great not merely as its economic or military strength, but its openness – its world-class universities, its confidence in the marketplace of ideas, and its ability to attract top global talent,” Wang added. “That, at least in my view, is what many people around the world truly admire about the United States.”