The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that an Indian national and PhD student from Columbia University self-deported using the CBP Home App on March 11. Ranjani Srinivasan, a student of Urban Planning at the university, left after her visa was revoked.


She had entered the US on an F-1 student visa (allows a person to enter the United States as a full-time student).


Who is Ranjani Srinivasan?



  • She is an Indian national and a doctoral student at Columbia University.

  • She has a Bachelor's Degree from CEPT University in Ahmedabad and a Master's Degree from Harvard.

  • With a strong academic background, she is a Fulbright and Inlaks scholar.

  • Her research focuses on land-labour relations in peri-urban India, with an emphasis on political economy and spatial politics.

  • She has been accused of “supporting Hammas” or engaging in “pro-Hamas” behaviour, along with Leqaa Kordia and Mahmoud Khalil.

  • She has worked for an environmental advocacy nonprofit in Washington on "frontier communities at risk from climate change" as well as a researcher for the West Philadelphia Landscape Project (WPLP) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.


ALSO READ: Indian PhD Student At Columbia University Self Deports After Her Visa Gets Revoked


Why did she self-deport?


The DHS revoked her visa based on the claim that she was supporting Hamas, which the US has termed as a terrorist organisation. While details of her actions haven’t been disclosed, her participation in the pro-Palestine protests had raised red flags.  


Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in X post confirmed the student’s self-deportation, adding that it was a privilege to study and live in the US. “When you advocate for violence and terrorism, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country. I am glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers use the CBP Home App to self-deport.”


Srinivasan was seen in airport surveillance footage hurrying down a jetway along with her luggage. She left on Tuesday, according to India Today.