A University of Houston professor told students Sunday that his math classes would be taken over by another educator through the end of the semester so he could return to South Korea to resolve his immigration status.
The news comes in the wake of hundreds of Texas international students losing their immigration status. At least 252 international students at Texas universities have had their visas revoked or immigration status terminated in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) database.
The UH Cougar, a daily student newspaper, broke the news about the professor in a short story that did not identify the educator’s gender or the department in which they teach (although the story was categorized with the hashtag “College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics”). The story’s author, Gauraangi Gupta, managing editor Regan Grant and editor-in-chief Cindy Rivas Alfaro did not respond to requests for comment. It appeared from the news story that the professor did not have to depart immediately and hoped to return for the fall semester.
The professor was later identified as Hyeongseon Jeon. A student shared Jeon’s message on the social media site Reddit, in which the professor confirmed he is leaving for South Korea and his Math 3339 class will be taken over by Jian Cao.
“Due to the unexpected termination of my visa — an issue that has recently impacted many international scholars — I must return to Korea immediately to resolve my immigration status,” Jeon wrote to his students.
University of Houston Director of Media Relations Bryan Luhn said Tuesday afternoon that a UH faculty member was affected by the SEVIS visa terminations based on his recent status as a doctoral student at another institution. Luhn said “the faculty member did post a message online to his students through an internal learning management system, which has been shared on social media.”
“At this time, we are not aware of any other faculty affected by visa terminations,” Luhn said.
Rice University political science professor Robert Stein, a Baker Fellow whose work has been supported by the City of Houston’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security, said Rice, a private university, isn’t releasing any specific information about how many students have had their immigration status revoked or whether it’s extended to professors, but what he’s heard is terrifying.
“What I am concerned about, and I think everybody is, is that this is going to have a chilling effect on international students coming to the U.S.,” he said. “It sends the wrong signal that foreign-born people aren’t welcome.”
American educational institutions are a major source of revenue, he added. Charles Foster, a Houston-based immigration attorney, noted that dozens of heads of state have been educated at American universities. Arbitrarily revoking the immigration status of students, and now a professor, tarnishes the reputation of the American government, Foster said.
“The vast majority of the cases I’m aware of had nothing to do with a political demonstration or association with any group that was perceived hostile to the policies of the administration. They simply had their status revoked because of some very casual contact with law enforcement even though that activity in no way legally affected their student status. Nevertheless, that was the common denominator, in my opinion, that resulted in the revocation of their status,” Foster said.
“I hope the administration, rather than digging in their heels … will look at these cases on an individual basis and if there’s no [infraction], reinstate them,” he added.
Luhn, the UH spokesman, issued the following statement in response to questions about student immigration status.
“Since March 25, a small number of our international students have been impacted by SEVIS terminations and/or visa revocations. Our practice is to notify these students directly of these changes.
The University of Houston’s International Student and Scholar Services Office is committed to supporting our international students and scholars by providing comprehensive services and programs to meet their needs and we have proactively communicated the importance of maintaining compliance with immigration laws and continue to offer guidance.
We are encouraging our international students to remain in close contact with ISSSO and to reach out with any concerns.”
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
