Chinese students studying in the U.S. are scrambling to figure out their futures after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that some students would have their visas revoked.

The U.S. will begin revoking the visas of some Chinese students, including those studying in “critical fields", and "those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party," according to the announcement.

China is the second-largest country of origin for international students in the United States, behind only India. In the 2023-2024 school year, more than 270,000 international students were from China, making up roughly a quarter of all foreign students in the U.S.

This is a “new version of Chinese Exclusion Act,” said Linqin, a Chinese student at Johns Hopkins University, who asked to be identified only by his first name out of fear of retaliation. He was referring to a 19th-century law that prohibited Chinese from immigrating to the U.S. and banned Chinese people already in the U.S. from getting citizenship. He said Wednesday was the first time he thought about leaving the U.S. after spending one third of his life here.

Chinese international students are point of tension between U.S. and China

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, called the U.S. decision unreasonable.

“Such a politicized and discriminatory action lays bare the U.S. lie that it upholds the so-called freedom and openness," she said Thursday, adding that China has lodged a protest with the U.S.

The issue of Chinese students studying overseas has long been a point of tension in the bilateral relationship. During Trump’s first term, in 2019, China’s Ministry of Education warned students about visa issues in the U.S., with rising rejection rates and shortening of visas.

Last year, the Chinese Foreign Ministry protested that a number of Chinese students have been unfairly interrogated and sent home upon arrival at U.S. airports.

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Chinese state media has long hyped gun violence in the U.S. and violent protests during the pandemic, and portrayed the U.S. as a dangerous place that wasn’t safe for its citizens. The tense bilateral relationship has also meant that some Chinese students are opting to study in the U.K. or other countries over the U.S. after the pandemic.

Zou Renge, a 27-year-old public policy master's student at the University of Chicago, said she had planned to take some time off and work in humanitarian aid programs abroad after graduating at the end of this year.

But now, she will refrain from leaving the U.S. and will look for jobs in the meantime. “In a very uncertain environment, I’ll try my best to find myself a solution,” she said.

Hong Kong seeks to draw in talent amid uncertainty

Some were eager to capitalize on the uncertainty facing international students in the U.S. Hong Kong’s leader John Lee told lawmakers on Thursday that the city would welcome any students who have been discriminated against by American policies to study in the city.

“The students who face unfair treatment can come from different countries beyond the U.S. I think this is an opportunity for Hong Kong,” he said. “We will work with our universities to provide the best support and assistance.”

That followed a widely shared post by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) inviting Harvard students to “continue their academic pursuits” there after Trump said he would revoke the university's ability to accept international students.

Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to China in 1997, is a popular destination for mainland Chinese students to pursue their university degrees because of its international image and relative freedoms.

The city launched a new visa scheme in 2022 to counter the exodus of expatriates and local professionals that occurred after Beijing imposed a national security law to quell dissent and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Multiple Hong Kong universities including the Chinese University of Hong Kong, HKUST, and City University of Hong Kong said they would streamline or facilitate applications for international students coming from top universities in the U.S.

Will Kwong, managing director at Hong Kong's AAS Education Consultancy, said his company was helping students with offers from American universities to apply to other institutions, predominantly in Britain and Australia, so that they had alternative choices.

U.S. was known for diversity and this will hurt it, students say

“Having fewer international exchanges is definitely not good for America’s development,” said Zhang Qi, a postdoctoral fellow in Beijing. "This could be a positive change for China’s development. More talented individuals may choose to stay at Tsinghua or Peking University, or with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other top institutions in China, which would benefit the development of domestic science and technology.”

For many, there is little they can do as they now wait for the fallout from the move.

Chen, an incoming Chinese student at Purdue University who only gave his last name out of concern for retaliation by the Trump administration, has been waiting anxiously for his visa approval. But he was also angry. Currently in China, he said this was the exact opposite of what he thought the U.S. stood for.

“I was expecting freedom and tolerance. The U.S. was known for its diversity which allows international students to fit in, but it is a pity to see such kind of change," he said.