Three international students at the Rochester Institute of Technology are suing to have their legal status reinstated after federal authorities terminated it without notice.
The students are among eight at RIT who have had their status terminated in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), and one who has had their student visa revoked.
“The immediate, unjustifiable termination of SEVIS registration has thrown (the) Plaintiffs’ academic and professional lives into turmoil, threatening their futures and leaving them in fear of detention and deportation,” their complaint reads.
One is a Ph.D. candidate from Bangladesh doing NASA-funded research in imaging sciences. The other two are from China. One is pursuing a graduate degree in jewelry arts, and the other is a Ph.D. candidate in computer and information sciences with a focus on machine learning. None are identified by name.
They join more than a thousand international students nationwide at dozens of colleges and universities to have their studies and their lives upended by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Last week, the University of Rochester announced 11 students had had their visas revoked, with nine also having their SEVIS status terminated.
The RIT students argue they were denied due process by not being notified of the termination or given a chance to defend themselves.
SEVIS is a system that monitors international students who enter the country on F1 and J1 visas. Termination of SEVIS records means the students would likely have to leave the country. According to the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, international students are expected to leave the country in 15 days following SEVIS termination.
While a visa allows students to enter and exit the country, SEVIS oversees their legal status in the United States. An international student may have an expired visa but are legally able to work and go to school indefinitely so long as their SEVIS status is valid.
The federal immigration actions have raised tensions on campuses nationwide. Such was the case Friday at RIT, when social media and student-run discussion boards erupted with rumors about Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on school grounds. The discussion continued for hours, but school officials said it was misinformation and the original claims were unfounded.
The three students were never notified of any issues with their records, according to the complaint, nor why the terminations took effect now. They were allegedly first notified earlier this month by the director of international services at RIT. Neither the school nor students received any contact from DHS or the Department of State.
DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The students’ SEVIS status offered little explanation for the termination, reading only “identified in criminal records check and/or has had their visa terminated,” the complaint reads.
Two of the three students do have a criminal record. One was convicted for driving while ability impaired in 2021, completed all requirements of the court, and received her license back. The other was convicted of driving while intoxicated in 2023.
The third has no criminal record but was charged with driving with a suspended license. The case was later dismissed.
“Our position is that none of this comports what the regulations say about how and when statuses can be terminated,” said Yi Zhao, a New York City-based attorney representing the students.
Success in court is not guaranteed, but an Associated Press review found some are getting their status restored, if only temporarily.
In a case in Michigan, the Department of Homeland Security has argued terminating SEVIS status does not necessarily mean a student has to leave the country.
“Terminating a record in SEVIS does not terminate an individual’s nonimmigrant status in the United States,” Andre Watson, a senior official in the National Security Division of the Department of Homeland Security, wrote in a declaration earlier this month. “The statute and regulations do not provide (the Student and Exchange Visitor Program) the authority to terminate nonimmigrant status by terminating a SEVIS record.”
Zhao doesn’t buy that argument.
“That’s been the government’s new position, and I think that new position is speaking out of both sides of their mouth a little bit, because why else would you be terminating statuses if there was no effect?” Zhao said.
Cary Jensen is a staff attorney with Journey’s End Refugee Services in Buffalo. He previously spent 24 years with UR, ending his time at the school as assistant vice provost for international advocacy and engagement.
He said that terminating a SEVIS record may not technically change a student’s status. But its effect would likely make a student’s ability to continue living in the United States untenable.
Without SEVIS status, students are unable to get work authorization and would likely be blocked from any of the student services they were previously receiving. He described students that had found themselves in that situation as “kind of screwed.”
He used an analogy of the invisibility cloak from Harry Potter — terminating SEVIS status removes the power from the cloak but may not remove status entirely.
“You've still got the cloak, but it's kind of worthless,” Jensen said.
“You're basically going to have to go back to square one if you are going to continue as a student,” he continued. “Which is going to mean leaving the U.S., going to a consulate and reapplying for all this stuff.”
Includes reporting by Jake Streamer.
