The US Department of Homeland Security has declared that an Indian PhD student from Columbia University, whose visa was canceled for supposedly backing Hamas, has chosen to leave the United States on their own.
Through the CBP Home App, the student named Ranjani Srinivasan arranged their exit from the United States after their visa was revoked due to security issues arising from their conduct.
Srinivasan, an Indian citizen and PhD candidate in Urban Planning at Columbia University, arrived in the United States on an F-1 student visa.
The DHS stated that Srinivasan participated in actions that aided Hamas, a recognized terrorist group.
On March 5, 2025, her visa was canceled by the US Department of State. The department also verified that she voluntarily left the country on March 11, 2025, utilizing the CBP Home App, and that video evidence of the procedure has been obtained.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem verified the self-deportation. In a post on X, Noem stated that receiving a visa to live and study in the United States is a privilege, noting that this privilege ought to be taken away if an individual promotes violence and terrorism.
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Srinivasan’s biography on the official NYU Wagner website states that she possesses an M.Phil in Urban Planning from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP) at Columbia University.
She has also obtained a Master’s in Design from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and holds a Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) in Design from CEPT University.
Her biography additionally indicates that Srinivasan’s research centers on the evolving dynamics of land-labor relationships in India’s peri-urban regions. It disclosed that their main focal points are “in the political economy of development, the spatial politics of land, and the sociology of labour.”
