November 18, 2025Washington, DC, United StatesStudent and Exchange Visitor Program

ICE launches new initiative to help prevent foreign students from exploiting US education system

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security launched a new website this month to help train school officials to prevent student visa fraud in the United States.

The site provides practical tools and guidance to help schools detect and address potential foreign student fraud. The new resource is part of ICE’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program.

The training emphasizes a comprehensive approach, including careful document review, verification of information, and leveraging trusted resources to ensure admissions processes remain secure and compliant.

The training highlights common red flags that may indicate fraudulent activity, including the following:

Inconsistent or suspicious academic records, such as mismatched dates or unverifiable institutions.
Forged or identical financial documents, including duplicate bank statements submitted by multiple applicants.
Reluctance to participate in school orientation or advising sessions, or avoidance of video calls and other identity confirmation procedures.
Unexplained living arrangements, such as residing far from campus or registering at a suspicious address.
Unusual behavior, such as taking research materials home without authorization, refusing to sign or comply with nondisclosure agreements, or frequently changing majors, status, name or address without justification.

To assist designated school officials, the training highlights key steps, including the following:

Document review: The training encourages designated school officials to carefully examine academic and financial records for originality and accuracy. It provides insights into identifying formatting inconsistencies, spelling or grammatical errors, and other signs of forgery or alteration.
Information verification: The training guides schools on how to verify details provided by applicants, such as contacting academic institutions, banks and other organizations to confirm legitimacy. It also emphasizes cross-checking personal essays and other submitted materials for consistency.
Using resources: The training introduces tools such as the World Education Services guide for authenticating international academic credentials and the International Association of Universities World Higher Education Database, which provide valuable support in recognizing legitimate foreign education systems and institutions.

The initiative was developed in coordination with ICE Homeland Security Investigations, which investigates student visa and document fraud. This effort is part of DHS’s larger effort — under the Direction of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — to restore integrity to America’s immigration system. It will also help prevent foreign students from exploiting America’s education system to the detriment of American students.

The training page is now available on Study in the States within the newly launched SEVP Fraud Hub at StudyintheStates.dhs.gov/FraudHub. SEVP encourages all designated school officials to review the materials and incorporate the guidance into their admissions processes.

For more information, visit StudyintheStates.dhs.gov.

Updated: 11/18/2025