US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has fixed the rules that will determine when to terminate a foreign citizen’s legal status to stay in America due to visa revocation, reports Bloomberg Law.
Over the previous few weeks, thousands of student visas have been revoked, and many students’ SEVIS records have been deleted. Following that, many lawsuits were filed in court seeking TROs.
Last week, the Trump administration informed the Court via email that all terminated SEVIS records have been reinstated and that a policy framework will be developed soon to determine SEVIS record terminations.
To that effect, an internal memo has been sent by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to all Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIP) officials.
The memo – ‘SEVIS Notice – Policy Regarding Termination of Records’ shows an expanded list of criteria for ICE to terminate foreign-born students’ legal status in the U.S., including a ‘U.S. Department of State Visa Revocation (Effective Immediately).’
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) manages and tracks nonimmigrants in the F, M, and J categories. The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) collects information on non-immigrant students and exchange visitors and provides an electronic monitoring and verification mechanism for related information.
As per the memo, SEVP has the ability to update and maintain the information in SEVIS and to terminate SEVIS records.
A terminated record in SEVIS could indicate that the nonimmigrant no longer maintains F or M status.
SEVP can terminate records for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Exceeded Unemployment Time
- Failure to Comply with I-515A
- Failure to Repay the I-901 Fee Chargeback
- Failure to Report While on OPT
- No Show
- School Withdrawn
- Violation of Change of Status Requirements
- Change of Status Approved
- Evidence of a Failure to Comply with the Terms of Nonimmigrant Status Exists
- U.S. Department of State Visa Revocation (Effective Immediately)
The memo further states that, in its discretion, ICE may conduct further investigation or initiate removal proceedings based on evidence that a nonimmigrant student is not complying with the terms of their nonimmigrant status.
Revocation Leading to Removal
Here’s the chronology for the removal of a foreign citizen from America. According to the new rule, as per the memo, the U.S. Department of State can revoke a foreign national’s visa at any time based on derogatory information, and if the revocation is immediate, it can lead to removal proceedings.
However, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) should only terminate a student’s SEVIS record after confirming that the visa has indeed been revoked by the State Department.
According to the memo, the U.S. Department of State may, at any time, in its discretion, revoke a foreigner’s visa. The state can consider derogatory information provided by ICE and other U.S. law enforcement agencies in its assessment of whether visa revocation is appropriate for the foreign citizen.
When the State revokes a foreigner’s visa with immediate effect, ICE should take steps to initiate removal proceedings.
Therefore, if the state revokes a nonimmigrant visa effective immediately, SEVP may terminate the nonimmigrant’s SEVIS record based on the visa revocation with immediate effect, as such a revocation can serve as a basis of removability.
SEVP should not, however, terminate a nonimmigrant’s SEVIS record on this basis until it has confirmed that the State has revoked the visa.