Three Indian and two Chinese students have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and other immigration officials, accusing them of “unilaterally terminating the F-1 student status of hundreds, if not thousands, of international students.”
According to the lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) before the US District Court in New Hampshire, the “unilateral and unlawful termination” of F-1 status of the petitioners have put them out of lawful student status.
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The lawsuit alleged that the students are not only facing immigration detention and deportation, but also going through “severe financial and academic hardship.”
The students have alleged that they are not able to obtain their degrees and work in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme after graduation.
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Indian student Linkhith Babu Gorrela has claimed in the petition that his graduation date for the master’s programme is May 20. Without a valid F-1 student status, he neither can obtain his degree, nor participate in the OPT programme.
Other Indian students Thanuj Kumar Gummadavelli and Manikanta Pasula have only one semester left before they can complete their Master’s degrees and participate in the OPT programme. Their graduation is unpredictable and unlikely unless the court intervenes.
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On the other hand, Chinese student Hangrui Zhang’s only source of income is his research assistantship, which has been cut off in light of the termination of his F-1 student status. Another Chinese studentHaoyang An will have to abandon his Master’s program despite having already invested $329,196 in his education in the United States.
“Plaintiffs and proposed class members have maintained their student status by making progress toward completing their course of study, not engaging in unauthorized employment, and not having any conviction for a crime of violence for which a sentence of more than one year imprisonment may be imposed,” the lawsuit claimed.
The government did not give notice it is required to provide before terminating a foreign student’s legal status, the lawyers said.
