International students may face uphill battle getting US visas restored, attorney warns

  

Immigration attorney Oliver J. Langstadt says some international students in the US may face an uphill battle getting their legal status restored because a US visa is a privilege and not a right. 

 

According to the Associated Press, at least 1,024 students at 106 colleges, universities and university systems have had their visas revoked or their legal status terminated since late March. 

 

In lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security, students have argued the government lacked justification to cancel their visas or terminate their legal status. 

 

Speaking Wednesday on TVJ's Smile Jamaica, Mr. Langstadt said there seems to be heightened scrutiny by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State regarding student visas. 

 

"There's a system called the Student Arm and Exchange Visitor Information System, which is a database controlled by the Department of Homeland Security. And all the schools are required to enter information about students in that system and the government gets to review that. So if a student, a foreign student, that is, is getting into trouble, for example, charged with a crime or convicted of a crime that could trigger them having their visa

revoked. So if they're in their second or third year, yes, that could be a result. What is more ominous - because I think most students don't get into criminal problems - what is more ominous is the administration has been using it for means to revoke student visas for political activity. And that creates a constitutional clash," he explained. 

 

He believes that foreign students who do not have any criminal charges against them or did not engage in any political activism would have a better outcome in seeking redress. 

 

"Some of those students are not on scholarship, so therefore, it's their hard earned money or their families' hard earned money. And now if they're kicked out of school or their visa is revoked in the middle of a semester or term and they have to return home, they've lost the school fees, they've lost other expenses they've paid. And it's not only a significant economic impact, but it is also a significant emotional impact that is quite traumatic to be told from one day to the next. Listen, your visa has been revoked. You have to leave." 

 

Meanwhile, Mr. Langstadt said international students are afforded the same rights under the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees several fundamental rights, including freedom of speech, the right to assemble, and the right to petition the government.

 

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. That constitutional protection applies to foreign students. So if students are engaging in reasonable political activity and they are not doing anything that harms the national security interest of the US, they are permitted to do it. So if they're having their student visas revoked for simple political activity, that's, I believe, a clear violation of the Constitution. And I think it sets up a clash with the current administration and the courts," he contended. 

 

Mr. Langstadt added that students whose visas have been revoked should first clarify from their institution the reasons for the decision and immediately consult with a qualified lawyer to explore their options. But Mr. Langstad admits that the options are few. 

 

In the meantime, Amnesty International is calling for US authorities to stop punishing students for their activism. In a statement on its website, Amnesty International said the authorities must end the unjust removal of visas and residency. It added that everyone has the right to speak freely, protest peacefully, get fair treatment under the law, and live free from discrimination.