Federal Court issues TRO on student visa records after lawsuit challenges SEVIS terminations

The Hindu

23-04-2025

After the Murthy Law Firm filed a lawsuit against the federal government, a federal judge in Georgia issued Temporary Restraining Orders (TROs) restoring Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records for 133 international students who sued over unlawful SEVIS terminations. This comes after the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) revoked Visas of International students and terminated their SEVIS records, citing encounters with law enforcement, many without any conviction.
Anna Stepanova, assistant Managing Attorney, Murthy law firm, said the SEVIS reinstatements ordered by various federal judges are the result of Temporary Restraining Orders (TROs), which, at this time, provide a temporary reinstatement of plaintiffs' SEVIS records until the lawsuit is resolved via a final order from the judge. However, the standard for granting a TRO is a showing of a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of the case. This is generally seen as a positive development in the SEVIS terminations litigation.
Background
Late last month, the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, reported that DOS revoked more than 300 student visas and announced a new 'Catch and Revoke' program that uses AI-assisted reviews to screen social media posts of student visa holders.
According to a verified source cited by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), out of 4,736 SEVIS records that the ICE has terminated since January 20, 2025, 50 per cent were Indians, with the majority being on F-1 visa status. Chinese students accounted for 14%, and a significant number of students were from Nepal, South Korea, and Bangladesh.
The AILA report had indicated that 50 per cent of students were on Optimal Practical Training (OPT), which means that they had graduated and were employed in the U.S. Many Indian students especially from the STEM fields after their graduation work in the U.S. temporarily for 12 months with an additional extension of up to 36 under Optimal Practical Training. Many of the students who are doing their OPTs hope to secure a working career in the U.S. It is very difficult to secure an H1B visa in the U.S., for all these students who want to survive in the U.S., these OPTs open doors for them.
Possible reasons for terminations
The AILA study found many of those whose visas had been revoked had been in police reports for minor traffic violations or campus infractions, while in an extreme case, a student who was a victim of domestic abuse had their visa cancelled because their name appeared in the police complaint.
Only two of the 327 responses received pertained to allegations that the students were involved in any political activity, and lawyers have pointed out that protesting is not illegal per se, and that the students risked losing their futures due to the government's action.
As per Immigration attorneys in the U.S., the Department of State does not appear to have any rules or specific regulations that the DOS or ICE have mentioned or cited in the revocation letters issued to the students whose visas have been revoked and whose SEVIS records have been terminated.
Sheela Murthy, President and CEO, Murthy Law Firm said, 'Generally, the reasons for the termination tend to be the person having some type of a fingerprint check or record with law enforcement. This includes incorrect cases that were filed and completely dismissed as baseless charges, or in some cases, there are pending investigations or ongoing cases in court.'
Ms. Murthy said, 'In a few instances, it has been for simply showing support for a certain ideology, attending a march, or even showing a preferance for a certain ideology or in some case cases it appears to be a case of mistaken identity for a person being in the vicinity of a protest march.'
State of confusion
Ms. Murthy, said that there are no clear cut or simple avenues to challenge these decisions. The majority of the affected students have been filing federal lawsuits to reinstate their F1 status. Some courts have required the government to reinstate the student's status, and in other cases, the courts are not sure that the status of the student has been revoked or terminated merely because the SEVIS has been terminated.
Ms. Murthy says that to date, the first has not received any deportation or removal notice for these students who have been impacted. We know many of them who have simply departed/traveled out of the US because they have been told that they need to leave immediately or they may be subject to deportation/removal.
Ms. Murthy says other students are confused as to what to do, especially if they are in the middle of their education, for example, they may have a year or two to graduate, and they have invested their and their parents life savings to attend these universities to obtain the coveted U.S. degree, that will stand them in good stead anywhere in the world. Now, they are devastated and confused on how best to proceed.
Ms. Murthy says even international student advisors or Designated School Officials (DSOs) are confused by the arguments made by the federal government that the termination of the SEVIS does not result in the status of the student being terminated. If that is not the case, nobody knows what exactly is going on, and even the government may be unclear since they are making up new rules and new ways to adversely impact students.