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Washington – At first, the Bar Association for Immigration Lawyers began to receive inquiries from several students a day. These were foreigners who were studying in the United States and discovered in early April that their legal status was terminated with a little notice. To the best of their knowledge, none of the students committed a deportable crime.
In recent days, calls have started floods. Hundreds of students call to say that they have lost legal status, looking for advice on what to do.
“We thought it would be something that was unusual,” says Matthew Maona, based on Boston an immigration lawyer who receives about six calls a day from panic international students. “But now it seems that it comes quite quickly and furiously.”
The speed and scope of the federal government’s efforts to terminate the legal status of international students stunned colleges across the country. Little angles of higher education are untouched as schools ranging from prestigious private universities, major public research institutions and small liberal arts colleges find conditions one after the other among their students.
At least 600 students in more than 90 colleges and universities have canceled their visas or their legal status have been terminated in recent weeks, according to an overview of the Associated Press of University Statements and Correspondence with School Employees. Advocate groups that collect colleges reports say hundreds of more students may be in repression.
About 1.1 million international students were in the United States last year, a source of major revenue for colleges managed by training. International students are not eligible for Federal Financial Assistance and their ability to pay training often about whether they will be admitted to US schools. They often pay a full price.
Many students who lose their legal status are from India and China, who together represent more than half international students at American colleges. But the terminals are not limited to those of any part of the world, lawyers said.
Four students from two universities in Michigan are suing Trump administration officials after their F-1 student status was terminated last week. Their lawyer at the US Civil Liberties Union Ramis Wadud said students had never received a clear reason why.
“We don’t know and that’s the terrible part,” he said.
The students were informed of the termination of their universities by email, which came as a shock, Wadud said. The reason was that there was “a check of criminal files and/or that their visa was canceled,” Wadud said, but none of them was charged or convicted of crimes. Some of them had either exceeded or parking tickets, but one did not have one, he said. Only one of the students knew their entrance visa was canceled, Wadud said.
Students have filed similar lawsuits in several other countries, claiming that a proper process has been denied.
In New Hampshire, last week, Federal Judge issued a temporary restraining order to restore the status of a doctoral degree. A college student in Dartmouth, Xiaotian Liu, as he causes the cancellation of his visa.
In many colleges, employees have learned that the legal immigration status of some international students has been terminated when employees have checked a database managed by the Ministry of Internal Security. In the past, college staff said that legal statuses were usually updated after colleges told the government that students were no longer studying at school.
The system for tracking the enrollment and movements of international students came under the control of immigration and application of customs after September 11, said Fanta Ace, CEO of NAFSA, Association of International Teachers. She said the latest developments have left students to fear how quickly they can be on the wrong side of application.
“You don’t need more than a small number to create fear,” AW said. “There is no clarity on what the reasons are and how far the scope of this is.”
The group tells her that about 1,300 students have lost visas or terminated their status based on colleges reports.
The Ministry of Interior Security and the State Department did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Foreigners who are subject to removal proceedings usually receive a notice to appear in the immigration court on a certain date, but lawyers claim that the students concerned have not received any notifications, leaving them uncertain about the next steps to take.
Some schools have told students to leave the country to avoid the risk of being detained or deported. But some students appeal the termination and remained in the United States as they were being processed.
Others caught in the legitimate limbs are not students at all. They remained in the American postgraduate ranking of “Optional Practical Training”, a one-year period-or up to three for graduates for science and technology, allows work in the United States after graduating from an academic degree. During this time he graduated in work in their area and waits to receive his H-1B or other employment visas if they wish to continue working in the United States
About 242,000 foreigners in the United States have been hired through this “optional practical training”. About 500,000 are pursuing diplomas and another 342,000 are students.
Among the students who have brought lawsuits is the doctor of Georgia Tech. A student who is to complete on May 5 with a job offer to join the faculty. His lawyer, Charles Cook, said the student was probably directed for termination due to an unpaid fine for traffic when the student had released his car to a friend. In the end, the violation was rejected.
“We have a case after the case after the case exactly when there is no major crime,” said Cook, who represents 17 students in the federal trial. He said his law firm had heard from hundreds of students.
“These are children who now, under the Trump administration, realize that their position is fragile,” he said. “They have pursued a very vulnerable population. These children do not hide. They are in school.”
Some international students adapt their daily procedures.
Doctor’s degree. A student from China at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has said she has started carrying an immigration documents around her passport on the advice of the University’s International Student Office. The student who speaks on condition of anonymity of fear of being directed by the authorities said it was difficult to see the termination even for students like her without criminal files.
“This is the worst part because you don’t know if you will be the next person,” she said. ___
Seminera, reported by Raleigh, NC and Keller, reported by Albuquerque, Nm
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