The first whiff of victory: US district court temporarily restores F-1 status of international student

A temporary reinstatement of the F-1 status of an international student, by a US district court, is the first whiff of victory for international students reeling under the same predicament. Hundreds of students (including those from India) have had their F-1 visa revoked and legal status abruptly terminated on the SEVIS platform , without any notice and in most cases without any specific reason, with instructions to self-deport from the US at the earliest.

The US district court (New Hampshire) in an emergency hearing on Wed, called for temporary restoration of the F-1 student immigration status of Xiaotian Liu, who was studying and researching computer science at Dartmouth College. Such action was taken against him by US agencies despite his never having committed a crime or traffic violation and having never participated in any protest in the US or elsewhere.

Judge Samantha Elliott issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) temporarily reinstating Liu’s F-1 status, pending a formal ruling in his case in the coming weeks. It is believed that this order is the first relief by any district court since US agencies starting revoking so hundreds of visas of international students. Cases are increasingly being filed by international students in district courts across the US. Class action suits are also being contemplated.

As reported by TOI in its edition of April 9, The American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire (ACLU-NH) which filed the lawsuit on his behalf has asked the district court to reinstate Xiaotian Liu’s F-1 student status, which would allow him to continue his studies.

In a press release, Gilles Bissonnette, Legal Director at ACLU-NH said, “The court’s temporary restoration of our client’s student status means that he can continue studying and working on what he loves - computer science. International students are a vital community in our state’s universities, and no administration should be allowed to circumvent the law to unilaterally strip students of status, disrupt their studies, and put them at risk of deportation.”

Ronald L. Abramson, Chair of the Immigration Law Group at Shaheen & Gordon, a law firm representing the international student added, “Today’s decision reaffirms the basic principle that a person who follows all the rules should not be subject to losing their immigration status - and everything they have worked so hard to achieve - based upon the government’s whim. Just as individuals must comply with the law, so should our government.”

TOI spoke to a cross section of immigration attorneys, who believe that filing lawsuits in district courts under the Administrative Procedure Act can get results. They add, it is about due process, of the right to be notified of adverse action that the US government agencies take against you; about the right to be furnished with information that the government claims to possess which is the reason for termination of your legal status.