Indian students rethink studies in the US and the American Dream

Education consultant Anirudh Gupta has received numerous calls over the last couple of weeks from Indian students in the US asking him whether they should return home for the summer or stay put, over fears that their visas could be cancelled or that they would face trouble during re-entry.

- Nirmala Ganapathy India Bureau Chief and Rohini Mohan

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU — Education consultant Anirudh Gupta has received numerous calls over the last couple of weeks from Indian students in the US asking him whether they should return home for the summer or stay put, over fears that their visas could be cancelled or that they would face trouble during re-entry.

The recent deportation of more than 300 international students, including Indians, on the grounds of activism, terror links or crimes has created a climate of fear and confusion among the international student community.

With the uncertainty fomented by the Trump administration's erratic visa policies, Mr Gupta does not have a definitive answer for these queries.

But he has a clearer message for students and parents in the process of deciding future study plans: Going to the US is a big "no".

"I tell parents, if their child has got into the top 20 universities in the US, they should go ahead. Otherwise, I tell them to explore other options," Mr Gupta, director of Mindways Consulting, a Delhi-based education consultation service, told The Straits Times.

Students who had planned to go to the US for their studies have pivoted to Britain, he added.

Indian students used to aim for the best university they could get into, or choose a destination country where they had higher chances of gaining a work permit, work experience or eventual residency. "Now that question has become secondary. People are worried about geopolitics," Mr Gupta said.

Indian students and academics were caught up in a US crackdown on pro-Palestine activism in March. The US revoked Columbia University PhD student Ranjani Srinivasan's visa, prompting her to self-deport. Immigration authorities also detained Georgetown University professor Badar Khan Suri, who is married to an American citizen who was originally from Gaza, but a court stopped his deportation.