Judge reinstates Ohio State international student's status
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A federal judge has reinstated the international student status of an Ohio State University Ph.D. student after it was revoked by the federal government.
In a ruling filed late last week, U.S. District Court Judge Algenon L. Marbley temporarily reinstated the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems (SEVIS) status for the agricultural engineering student who is a citizen of India. Marbley set a preliminary injunction hearing for May 8.
SEVIS is a database used by the Department of Homeland Security to track F-1 students in the United States to attend school. An F-1 visa provides foreign students with valid immigration status for the duration of their time of study.
The student was one of nearly a dozen Ohio State students, and hundreds nationwide, whose SEVIS records were removed from the database by the Trump administration earlier this month without any notice.
According to the court filing, on April 8, the student received an email from Ohio State’s international affairs office telling her that her SEVIS record had been deleted from the database. The office said the reason was “Other -- Individual identified in criminal records check and/or has had their VISA revoked.” The email further states, “The U.S. government believes you have violated your F-1 status.”
The student alleges that while her visa does remain valid, it is the “arbitrary and capricious” revocation of her SEVIS status that she is challenging in court.
Criminal activity is one way an F-1 visa can be revoked. The student admits to a June 2020 conviction for a defective equipment charge – a misdemeanor traffic infraction -- in Missouri for which she paid her fine.
Another Ohio State graduate student, Ahwar Sultan, and the OSU chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration for revoking his visa after pro-Palestinian protests at the university in April 2024.
On April 7, Ohio State President Ted Carter said the university was not formally notified of any of the visa revocations and is working to find solutions for impacted students.
Carter was part of the Ohio State football team’s championship visit to the White House; a university spokesperson would not say if Carter discussed the student visa issue with President Trump or Vice President JD Vance, an Ohio State alumnus.