Trump administration restores legal status for some WV international students
The Trump administration has restored visas and SEVIS records for some international students in West Virginia, but the relief could be temporary.
MORGANTOWN and HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – At least four international students in West Virginia can continue their studies after the Trump administration reversed course and reinstated their visas and Student Exchange and Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, records.
SEVIS records are vital for international students who cannot stay in the U.S. without them.
Earlier this month, nine students at West Virginia University and one at Marshall University were affected by the Trump administration’s push to revoke visas and SEVIS records for students who expressed support for Palestine or who appeared in “criminal records checks,” often for nonviolent traffic infractions.
Over 1,500 international students across the country faced similar disruptions in recent weeks, reports PBS NewsHour. Several thousand more have had their SEVIS records deleted since the president took office on Jan. 20.
A flurry of lawsuits have been filed on behalf of the students with hundreds receiving temporary restraining orders restoring their legal status and protecting them from deportation.
In West Virginia, the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU-WV, filed two federal lawsuits on behalf of two students studying at West Virginia University and Marshall University, respectively.
On April 18, ACLU-WV filed suit on behalf of their client S.V. who is an Indian national set to graduate from Marshall University next month. S.V. was charged with the misdemeanor of driving under the influence in 2020 and was sentenced to probation.
In 2023, S.V. disclosed his charge when applying for an, ultimately granted, F-1 student visa. Earlier this month, though, the Trump administration revoked his visa after his name was “identified in a criminal records check.”
On April 23, Judge Robert C. Chambers ordered S.V.’s visa be restored and barred Trump administration officials from “arresting, detaining, or transferring” him from the jurisdiction.
In his order granting the temporary restraining order, Judge Chambers said the actions of the Trump administration in revoking S.V.’s visa and his SEVIS records were “not in compliance with [federal regulations] and were arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law.”
Following their victory in Huntington, the ACLU-WV announced on April 24 another federal lawsuit on behalf of Sajawal Ali Sohail, a Pakistani national studying computer science at West Virginia University whose visa and SEVIS records were revoked.
Sohali was investigated for fraud in 2023 after his initial tuition payment was paid for with stolen credit cards. Through the proceedings, it was discovered that Sohali and his family were targeted by a scammer and the judge in that case ruled that he was a victim, not the perpetrator.
“Our client has been victimized three times now–once by a scammer, then again by police who incorrectly charged him with a crime, and now a third time by the Trump administration for citing that charge as grounds to endanger his legal status in the country,” Aubrey Sparks, ACLU-WV Legal Director, said in a press release regarding the federal lawsuit.
In a statement released by ACLU-WV after their clients saw their visas and SEVIS records restored last week, the organization claimed victory, but said they would continue to monitor the situation.
“This is positive news not just for our two clients in West Virginia, but for international students across the country,” the statement reads. “We want to be clear that the administration is backing down not because it’s the right thing to do, but because they have been dragged to court repeatedly and lost again and again.”
The restoration of international student’s visas and SEVIS records may be temporary.
In a Washington, D.C. court Friday, the Justice Department said it would begin to develop policies to revoke student visas and SEVIS records moving forward. An anonymous senior Department of Homeland Security official told the New York Times that students whose legal status was restored could still see them terminated in the future.
The uncertainty could drive down international students moving forward, Elora Mukherjee of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School told NPR’s Morning Edition last week.
"Right now, the United States attracts the best and brightest, most talented minds from around the world, and our country will lose out if there is deep uncertainty about whether international students can finish their programs here," she said.