The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia filed a federal lawsuit Friday on behalf of a Marshall University graduate student whose legal status was revoked one month before he was set to graduate.
The ACLU-Ƶ filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Huntington on behalf of Shival Nilesh Vyas, 28, a citizen of India and a graduate student who is scheduled to receive his masterƵs degree in computer science next month.
Listed as defendants are Kristi Noem, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; Todd Lyons, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
According to the lawsuit, Vyas received an email April 8 notifying him that his nonimmigrant student visa (F-1) valid through July 16, 2028, had been revoked.
He later learned the action was being taken because he was Ƶidentified in a criminal records check.Ƶ In July 2020, Viyas pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor traffic violation in Indiana while a graduate student at Purdue University. He was sentenced to probation for nearly a year in September 2020, but was released on the recommendation of his probation officer in January 2021.
He returned to India afterward during the COVID-19 pandemic but returned to the United States on a new visa in 2023 after complying with requirements for his reentry, which included disclosing the misdemeanor charge.
According to the ACLU-Ƶ, Vyas was in the process of applying for post-graduate work in the United States when he received the email ending his status.
ƵHaving been identified in a criminal record check is not a lawful ground for termination pursuant to federal regulations,Ƶ ACLU-Ƶ Legal Director Aubrey Sparks said in a news release issued late Friday afternoon. ƵOur client was not convicted of a crime of violence, nor was he convicted of a crime for which the potential sentence is more than one year, meaning that he categorically is not subject to termination of his F-1 status on those grounds.Ƶ
In the news release, Vyas said the experience has caused chaos for his education and career plans.
ƵI desperately want to complete my graduate degree and pursue work in the United States,Ƶ he said. ƵIt is clear this wasnƵt a decision based on my circumstance or experience Ƶ this was a predetermined outcome and they just said whatever needed to be said to justify it, even when it didnƵt apply to me.Ƶ
ACLU-Ƶ Executive Director Eli Baumwell said, ƵUnfortunately, it has become increasingly clear that the Trump administration is simply taking the law into its own hands in its crusade against noncitizens.Ƶ
The Herald-Dispatch reported last week that several international students at West Virginia universities have had their student visas revoked or their records terminated in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.
While Marshall University officials reported one such instance, Shauna Johnson, director of news communications at West Virginia University, said nine students had been notified of terminations as of Thursday, April 10.
In each of the cases involving ƵU students, Johnson said the justification provided was Ƶname found in criminal records check.Ƶ
Leah Payne, director of communications at Marshall, said Monday the university had not seen the lawsuit on behalf of Viyas.
ƵTo our knowledge, it does not involve Marshall University as a party, so we will have no further comment at this time. I can confirm that the university was notified earlier this month that one studentƵs visa was being revoked,Ƶ Payne said in an email.
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