Around 50 Saudi students in U.S. got their visa revoked after cheating

Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia's Cultural Mission to the U.S. (SACM) warned college students in the states against cheating on assignments or exams.

This came after officials were notified about several Saudi students who had their visas revoked because they cheated on assignments.

Speaking to Okaz newspaper, SACM official Mohamed Al Eissa said around 50 students had their visas cancelled in the last year alone.

"Most cases we recorded were related to violating U.S. immigration laws and students collaborating with online sources to get assignments done for them," Al Eissa explained.

"Some violations also included students changing addresses without notifying authorities, failing university courses, getting traffic tickets and not attending court hearings related to such charges," he added.

Al Eissa emphasized on how these numbers aren't considered alarming given that there are thousands of Saudi students doing well in the U.S. He also explained that the kingdom's Cultural Mission is always following up on cases and offering students guidance.

On Monday, SACM officials sent out a warning to all Saudi students based in the U.S., calling on them to abide by the country's rules.

In a tweet posted via their official account on Twitter, they wrote:

"We noticed that several Saudi student visas were recently revoked in airports across the country because they'd been dealing with websites to work on their assignments. The U.S. immigration department considers these actions unlawful. Therefore, we'd like to note and stress on students not to violate these laws and not to resort to such websites when working on their assignments."

Officials didn't elaborate on the kind of websites students should avoid. 

However, many on Twitter have since said these include online platforms or individuals who offer to work on assignments instead of students in return for money. 

"This is what's right and this is what should've happened a long time ago."

"You're the ones who are supposed to cancel their visas not the U.S. immigration department. Why do you spend money on them? Isn't it for their education? If they don't want to study, bring them back to Saudi Arabia."

"Imagine you have a chance to get relatively better education and you go and cheat. Then you get your student visa cancelled when someone else could've benefited from it if they were sent in your place." 

"I know students who graduated using these websites."

"They contact someone on WhatsApp and they directly send them answers." 

"The majority of international students, including Saudis, rely on websites and even Twitter to work on assignments and research papers. Those who got their visas cancelled must've been reported to authorities by their universities for cheating on their essays."

"Generalization that needs to be edited using better words. Thank God, 99 percent of my Saudi colleagues studying abroad are outstanding achievers. Those who violate rules are a minority."