The TOI correspondent from Washington: A group of three Indian and two Chinese students on Friday mounted a legal challenge against the Trump administration for disrupting the academic pursuit of hundreds of foreign students and academics in the US, often on minor grounds such as traffic and parking violations.
In a class action lawsuit filed before the US District Court in New Hampshire, the five students, through their attorneys, alleged that the Department of Homeland Security has unilaterally terminated F-1 student status of "hundreds, if not thousands," of foreign students and Optional Practical Training (“OPT”) participants throughout the US. They sought reinstatement of student visas that have been terminated, including theirs, and a halt to detentions and deportations.
The three Indian plaintiffs Manikanta Pasula, Likhith Babu Gorrela, Thanuj Kumar Gummadavelli, are students at Rivier University in New Hampshire, and the two Chinese plaintiffs Hangrui Zhang and Haoyang An, are graduate students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. Indians and Chinese the two largest foreign groups in the US academia, with more than half million students between them.
In the lawsuit, Pasula, now in the third semester of a computer engineering master's program, described being arrested and charged with driving without a valid US license while he had his Indian driver’s license. New Hampshire permits the use of an International Driving Permit for up to 60 days after foreign student’s arrival in the United States, and while Pasula was driving within that 60-day window, he pled guilty, paid a $248 fine, and immediately obtained a valid U.S. driver’s license.
Earlier this month, Pasula received an email from Rivier University that the State Department revoked his visa. He separately received an email from the U.S. Consulate General, Mumbai, that confirmed that his visa was revoked and that “remaining in the United States without a lawful immigration status can result in fines, detention, and/or deportation.”
The two other cases involving Indian students are similar. Thanuj was charged with speeding and a traffic misdemeanor for failing to carry a valid US driver’s license. Although he had a valid international driving permit at the time, he was outside the 60-day window in which the international driving permit is allowed in New Hampshire. Gorrela too had an international driving permit but was using it beyond the 60-day window. Although both paid fines and subsequently got their US licenses, the DHS nixed their student status, putting them on track for visa revocation and deportation.
Of the two Chinese students, the lawsuit says Haoyang was charged with a misdemeanor for driving without an active insurance policy in Massachusetts, and Hangrui was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor in an episode stemming from a misunderstanding. Although both cases were subsequently dismissed in court, their student status was also revoked in the DHS crackdown that now extends to infractions that go far beyond political activism.
Attorneys for the students said the Trump administration's "unilateral and unlawful terminations" have severely disrupted the educational opportunities of students who are in the middle of their studies (and in the middle of a semester) and who are simply trying to obtain, often at considerable expense, an education in the US while following all the rules required of them.
"These injuries are real.... Their graduation is unpredictable and unlikely unless this Court intervenes," the lawsuit said, describing the students' situation. Linkhith Babu Gorrela’s graduation date for his Master’s program is May 20, 2025, and without a valid F-1 student status, he may not obtain his Master’s degree. Nor can he participate in the OPT program after graduation.
Similarly, Thanuj Kumar Gummadavelli and Manikanta Pasula have only one semester left before they can complete their Master’s degrees and participate in the OPT program. Hangrui Zhang’s only source of income, the lawsuit said, is his research assistantship which has been cut off in light of the termination of his F-1 student status. Haoyang An will have to abandon his Master’s program despite having already invested $329,196 in his education in the US.
In a class action lawsuit filed before the US District Court in New Hampshire, the five students, through their attorneys, alleged that the Department of Homeland Security has unilaterally terminated F-1 student status of "hundreds, if not thousands," of foreign students and Optional Practical Training (“OPT”) participants throughout the US. They sought reinstatement of student visas that have been terminated, including theirs, and a halt to detentions and deportations.
The three Indian plaintiffs Manikanta Pasula, Likhith Babu Gorrela, Thanuj Kumar Gummadavelli, are students at Rivier University in New Hampshire, and the two Chinese plaintiffs Hangrui Zhang and Haoyang An, are graduate students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. Indians and Chinese the two largest foreign groups in the US academia, with more than half million students between them.
In the lawsuit, Pasula, now in the third semester of a computer engineering master's program, described being arrested and charged with driving without a valid US license while he had his Indian driver’s license. New Hampshire permits the use of an International Driving Permit for up to 60 days after foreign student’s arrival in the United States, and while Pasula was driving within that 60-day window, he pled guilty, paid a $248 fine, and immediately obtained a valid U.S. driver’s license.
Earlier this month, Pasula received an email from Rivier University that the State Department revoked his visa. He separately received an email from the U.S. Consulate General, Mumbai, that confirmed that his visa was revoked and that “remaining in the United States without a lawful immigration status can result in fines, detention, and/or deportation.”
The two other cases involving Indian students are similar. Thanuj was charged with speeding and a traffic misdemeanor for failing to carry a valid US driver’s license. Although he had a valid international driving permit at the time, he was outside the 60-day window in which the international driving permit is allowed in New Hampshire. Gorrela too had an international driving permit but was using it beyond the 60-day window. Although both paid fines and subsequently got their US licenses, the DHS nixed their student status, putting them on track for visa revocation and deportation.
Of the two Chinese students, the lawsuit says Haoyang was charged with a misdemeanor for driving without an active insurance policy in Massachusetts, and Hangrui was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor in an episode stemming from a misunderstanding. Although both cases were subsequently dismissed in court, their student status was also revoked in the DHS crackdown that now extends to infractions that go far beyond political activism.
Attorneys for the students said the Trump administration's "unilateral and unlawful terminations" have severely disrupted the educational opportunities of students who are in the middle of their studies (and in the middle of a semester) and who are simply trying to obtain, often at considerable expense, an education in the US while following all the rules required of them.
"These injuries are real.... Their graduation is unpredictable and unlikely unless this Court intervenes," the lawsuit said, describing the students' situation. Linkhith Babu Gorrela’s graduation date for his Master’s program is May 20, 2025, and without a valid F-1 student status, he may not obtain his Master’s degree. Nor can he participate in the OPT program after graduation.
Similarly, Thanuj Kumar Gummadavelli and Manikanta Pasula have only one semester left before they can complete their Master’s degrees and participate in the OPT program. Hangrui Zhang’s only source of income, the lawsuit said, is his research assistantship which has been cut off in light of the termination of his F-1 student status. Haoyang An will have to abandon his Master’s program despite having already invested $329,196 in his education in the US.
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