An Asian student has joined thousand others like himself in the fight against potential deportation. Jiarong Ouyang, a University of Cincinnati student, is reportedly suing the Trump administration after his visa was revoked even though his record bears no marks of a criminal conviction. The doctorate candidate in statistics faces an uncertain future in the United States despite having been in the country for over a decade for his higher studies.
His current legal status termination has not only blocked his path to reaching greater heights the field of his choice, but also created tensions for his small family living in the country: a wife and young sons.
About the Asian student suing Trump admin
Ouyang, who has been in the US since 2012, was hit by the student visa revocation nightmare earlier this month, which, in turn, put him at risk of being deported. According to a federal lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco this month, Jiarong Ouyang is one of four international students from China suing the Department of Homeland Security over legal status termination, as per The Enquirer.
Through their legal filing, the UC student and the others alongside him hope to get their student visa reinstated, which would clear the path to finish their studies.
Though now a graduate assistant at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre, Jiarong Ouyang enrolled at the University of California, Riverside, for his bachelor’s degree in computing science, the lawsuit states. Before pursuing his doctorate in statistics in Cincinnati, he went on to finish his master of science in applied statistics in California. Although his student visa revocation has cast his study completion in doubt, he was originally on track to getting his doctorate in 2026.
Asian student’s career derailed amid deportation fears
In addition to having co-authored a journal article, he received awards from the American Statistical Association’s local branch. Ouyang’s academic achievements include a 3.94 GPA and multiple research projects. The lawsuit established that the international student has been unable to work on these since his visa was revoked.
Alluding to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, he wrote in a court filing, “The sudden termination of SEVIS has abruptly halted all my ongoing projects, cut off essential research funding, and now threatens to derail my entire career path.”
“This overwhelming setback has not only deeply affected me but also placed my family in an incredibly difficult and uncertain situation.”
Why was the Asian student’s visa revoked?
Federal officials claimed that Ouyang’s visa was revoked after they caught his name in criminal records dating back to a 2019 domestic violence arrest. With the charge being dropped eventually at the time, the Asian student was never convicted.
Court documents state that while his visa was revoked back then following the arrest, he managed to legally remain in the country by applying for a new visa, which was approved.
On April 18, US District Judge Susan Illston temporarily barred the Trump administration from arresting Ouyang and the other Chinese students listed in the suit as the case progresses. Another court hearing is scheduled for Thursday, April 24.
Akin to Ouyang, four students from two Michigan universities are suing Trump admin’s officials after their F-1 student visa status was terminated this month, as per the Associated Press. Their lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union said the student were never sent a clear explanation for the same. Instead, they came to know about their legal status being cancelled in an email from the universities.
These students were given the same reason for their visas being revoked: “criminal records check.” However, as their attorney revealed, none of them were charged or convicted of crimes. Some merely had speeding or parking tickets.
As we reported earlier this week, another group of three Indian and two Chinese students challenged the Trump administration, with their legal team arguing that the unilateral termination of “hundreds, if not thousands” of F-1 student visas has left international students in the dark.