New U.S. student visa norms unjust, seek central intervention, CPI(M) urges Naidu

Expecting students in India not to post any views about the U.S. is undemocratic, says CPI(M) State secretary V. Srinivasa Rao.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) wrote a letter to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu requesting him to exert pressure on the central government and ensure that the new rules with regard to student visas imposed by the U.S. government were halted.

In the letter dated Thursday, CPI(M) State secretary V. Srinivasa Rao said that the U.S. government was scrutinising the social media accounts of the students who have applied for visas. Every year, around 3,00,000 students from India travel to the United States for higher education. A significant number of these are from Andhra Pradesh. ‘‘Now, due to a decision by U.S. President Donald Trump, many students are being denied visas. They are being allowed only after a thorough inspection of their social media accounts. This year, approximately 38% of applicants were rejected. As a result, students and their parents are in great distress,’‘ he said.

In Indian universities, students hold diverse opinions and are free to express those views on social media. ‘‘Expecting students in India not to post any views about the U.S. is undemocratic. Denying student visas on such grounds is unjust. This goes against principles of international natural justice and established protocols. Our government does not impose such restrictions on visitors from the United States,” he said.

Students and their families were taking loans to apply for these visas and were anxiously awaiting approvals. Even the State government supports foreign education. ‘‘Under these circumstances, scrutinising social media posts and granting visas based on them is discriminatory towards India. This biased approach causes serious harm and injustice to the students. Therefore, I urge you to intervene and take steps through the central government to get these new U.S. visa rules revoked,” he said.

At the same time, the A.P. government could take initiatives to develop high quality higher education in public sector of the country that could compete with the U.S., he added.

Published - May 29, 2025 07:44 pm IST