A Brigham Young University (BYU) graduate student has been suddenly told to pack up and leave the US along with his wife and children within 15 days.
The F-1 student has been legally studying in the country and was just a year away from finishing his PhD when he was given this notice without any prior warning.
Last week, Suguru Onda's form I-20 was suddenly revoked. The notice said he had "failed to maintain status" and pointed to unspecified "criminal records," but his lawyer says that's simply not true.
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According to his attorney, the international student has only two speeding tickets and a dismissed fishing violation from years ago - nothing serious enough to justify deportation. Despite this, his legal status at SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System), a federal database for immigrant students was revoked.
There are even more disturbing details coming out. According to reports the government is using AI to scan visa holders and flag supposed "violations" without any human review.
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This could mean that students like Onda are being punished by algorithms that are skewed against them without any actual evidence.
Onda has five children, two of whom were born in the US and now his entire family is scrambling to prepare for a possible forced return.
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His university is trying to support him, and his lawyer is fighting to reverse the decision. But unless a judge intervenes soon, another F-1 student could be uprooted overnight all thanks to a system that seems to be rigged against him.