Five international students at Bay Area universities on Friday filed a lawsuit against the federal government, challenging what they describe as unlawful terminations of their student immigration records.
According to the complaint, the Department of Homeland Security abruptly terminated the plaintiffs’ records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) between April 4 and April 8 — a move they say jeopardizes their legal status in the United States.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose division, the lawsuit names as defendants DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting Director Todd Lyons, ICE San Francisco Field Office acting Director Moises Becerra, and President Donald Trump.
The plaintiffs — three international students, and two former international students “currently working pursuant to post-graduate employment authorization” — are represented by San Francisco attorney Zachary M. Nightingale of Van Der Hout Immigration & Nationality Law. The students filed under pseudonyms “due to fear of retaliation … harassment or blacklisting by third parties,” according to the lawsuit.
“It’s unprecedented and, I believe, unlawful for the government to terminate SEVIS with no due process,” said Nightingale.
The lawsuit outlines that ICE uses SEVIS — the government database that collects information on international students — to track students’ status. The suit contests the termination of the SEVIS records, arguing that ICE’s reasoning to do so does not provide legal authority, nor should it amount to any violation of the plaintiffs’ lawful status. The lawsuit also says that just because a visa is revoked does not mean that ICE is authorized to terminate the student’s F-1 status.
Deleting the SEVIS records is not the same as terminating visas, although there is some overlap in the processes. Three of the plaintiffs received notifications from the State Department that their visas had been revoked, while the others have no way to verify if their visas have been affected without notification from the department.
The students allege that their records were marked as “Otherwise Failing to Maintain Status,” with a notation about criminal record checks, despite their having only minor offenses or dismissed charges. Each of the five had some run-in with law enforcement authorities during their visa periods.
“The government was updating the database of the students to indicate that they are no longer in status, when, in fact they are in status, and nothing changed,” said Nightingale. “So our argument is, No. 1, they do not have the legal authority to do that, period. And No. 2, there was no actual violation of their status that would justify any mechanism by which they could terminate their status.”
S.Y., the main plaintiff, is a graduate student who first came to study in the United States on a student visa in 2013 and completed an undergraduate degree. In 2018, S.Y.’s F-1 visa was revoked due to a misdemeanor conviction for driving under the influence, for which S.Y. paid a fine and completed classes. After applying for another F-1 visa abroad at a U.S. consulate, S.Y. was issued a new visa and reentered the United States to continue their studies. The plaintiff applied for and obtained another visa in 2024 to complete their graduate studies, but on April 8, they received notice from their university that their SEVIS status was terminated.
Another plaintiff, Z.D., first came to study in the United States on a student visa in 2021, receiving an undergraduate degree, then, in 2024, a graduate degree. Since then, Z.D. has worked lawfully in the U.S. with F-1 OPT status, which permits the right to work for a period of time after completing one’s studies. This plaintiff had a misdemeanor conviction for disturbing the peace in 2024, for which they paid a fine.
Plaintiff Y.W. is an undergraduate student who arrived in the U.S. on a student visa in 2021. In 2022, Y.W. attempted to reenter the U.S. while en route to another country, but the visa did not permit that type of travel. As a result, Y.W. was denied entry to the United States and deported. They were subsequently granted a waiver for the prior deportation and allowed to lawfully return to continue their studies. On April 4, Y.W. received a phone call from their school’s international students’ office informing them that their SEVIS status was terminated.
H.G., a current graduate student, came to study in the United States on a student visa in 2019 and received an undergraduate degree. They later traveled on multiple visas, including B-2, A-2, and F-1. In 2021, H.G. was arrested, but all charges were dismissed. H.G. disclosed the incident to authorities before receiving any new visas.
W.X., the final plaintiff, has been in the U.S. since 2017 and is working in a STEM field under OPT status. W.X. holds a high school diploma, an undergraduate degree, and a graduate degree. Their SEVIS record was terminated due to a flag in a criminal background check. The lawsuit states that W.X. was arrested in 2024 but never charged.
The five plaintiffs are seeking restoration of their SEVIS records and protection from detention or deportation during legal proceedings. The complaint states that “ICE’s en masse SEVIS terminations have created havoc and uncertainty for schools.”
In the Bay Area alone, dozens of students have had their visas terminated; nationally, hundreds have been affected. Other lawsuits are pending across the U.S. In Georgia, 17 international students filed a lawsuit alleging that ICE unlawfully used SEVIS to rescind their legal status.
Nightingale said his top priority is to protect the plaintiffs from deportation or retribution while they fight the case. “We are working out how to keep their identities confidential and try to obtain temporary protection for them, but we don’t know exactly what that’s going to look like,” he said. The plaintiffs are waiting on a temporary restraining order, which can take up to a few weeks to secure.