A group of 351 international students, many of whom are Indian nationals, have filed a second-amended class action suit in a US district court against top American immigration agencies. According to a TOI report by Lubna Kably, the lawsuit challenges recent actions by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the US Department of State (DOS) that resulted in widespread terminations of student immigration records and visa revocations. Students claim these actions were taken without due process and have left them at risk of deportation.
The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Georgia, contests the legality of a memo issued by ICE which states that revocation of an F-1 student visa by the DOS could trigger automatic termination of a student's record in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). As reported by the Times of India on May 1, the students argue that the memo introduces a new policy inconsistent with existing regulations and should have undergone the legally required notice-and-comment process under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
Under normal circumstances, international students on F-1 visas are allowed to remain in the US for the duration of their studies plus a 60-day grace period. The lawsuit states that the new policy removes this grace period once a SEVIS record is terminated, forcing immediate departure from the US.
“A visa revocation should not, legally, impact a student’s immigration status in the US, yet such a revocation will be treated by ICE in a manner that constructively terminates that student’s status by cutting off the ability to work, to study, and to change immigration statuses within the US (say from student visa to work visa),” states the lawsuit.
Greg Siskind, one of the attorneys representing the students, said, “DOS could revoke a visa for phantom reasons with no due process to address why revocation happened. The Trump Administration is counting on the argument that nothing DOS decides is reviewable by a court.”
This case is also notable for naming Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a defendant—marking the first such lawsuit to include the Secretary of State in this matter, along with the acting director of ICE and the Secretary of Homeland Security.
The plaintiffs allege that between 4,000 and 8,000 students in the US had their SEVIS records unlawfully terminated by ICE using automated systems, often just weeks before academic deadlines such as exams or graduation. They claim these terminations were made without legal authority and in violation of existing regulations, which only allow SEVIS terminations in three specific scenarios that do not include visa revocations.
The students argue that the ICE memo dated April 26, 2025, attempts to justify a new policy retroactively by asserting that visa revocations justify SEVIS terminations. They describe this move as unlawful and harmful.
In their legal claims, the students allege that ICE and DOS actions were arbitrary and violated the APA, deprived students of due process under the Fifth Amendment, and that the April 26 memo was an improperly introduced legislative rule. They also contend that the Secretary of State exceeded his legal authority by coordinating the revocations in a way that violates the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Law firms Bless Litigation, Joseph and Hall, Kuck Baxter, and Siskind Susser are representing the plaintiffs. The students have requested class-action certification and are asking the court to declare the SEVIS terminations and visa revocations unlawful. They also seek restoration of student records, visas, and work authorizations, and deletion of any incorrect data that may suggest immigration violations.
with TOI inputs
The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Georgia, contests the legality of a memo issued by ICE which states that revocation of an F-1 student visa by the DOS could trigger automatic termination of a student's record in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). As reported by the Times of India on May 1, the students argue that the memo introduces a new policy inconsistent with existing regulations and should have undergone the legally required notice-and-comment process under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
Under normal circumstances, international students on F-1 visas are allowed to remain in the US for the duration of their studies plus a 60-day grace period. The lawsuit states that the new policy removes this grace period once a SEVIS record is terminated, forcing immediate departure from the US.
“A visa revocation should not, legally, impact a student’s immigration status in the US, yet such a revocation will be treated by ICE in a manner that constructively terminates that student’s status by cutting off the ability to work, to study, and to change immigration statuses within the US (say from student visa to work visa),” states the lawsuit.
Greg Siskind, one of the attorneys representing the students, said, “DOS could revoke a visa for phantom reasons with no due process to address why revocation happened. The Trump Administration is counting on the argument that nothing DOS decides is reviewable by a court.”
This case is also notable for naming Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a defendant—marking the first such lawsuit to include the Secretary of State in this matter, along with the acting director of ICE and the Secretary of Homeland Security.
The plaintiffs allege that between 4,000 and 8,000 students in the US had their SEVIS records unlawfully terminated by ICE using automated systems, often just weeks before academic deadlines such as exams or graduation. They claim these terminations were made without legal authority and in violation of existing regulations, which only allow SEVIS terminations in three specific scenarios that do not include visa revocations.
The students argue that the ICE memo dated April 26, 2025, attempts to justify a new policy retroactively by asserting that visa revocations justify SEVIS terminations. They describe this move as unlawful and harmful.
In their legal claims, the students allege that ICE and DOS actions were arbitrary and violated the APA, deprived students of due process under the Fifth Amendment, and that the April 26 memo was an improperly introduced legislative rule. They also contend that the Secretary of State exceeded his legal authority by coordinating the revocations in a way that violates the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Law firms Bless Litigation, Joseph and Hall, Kuck Baxter, and Siskind Susser are representing the plaintiffs. The students have requested class-action certification and are asking the court to declare the SEVIS terminations and visa revocations unlawful. They also seek restoration of student records, visas, and work authorizations, and deletion of any incorrect data that may suggest immigration violations.
with TOI inputs
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