Revocation came weeks before scheduled graduation with science doctorate
EDITORS NOTE: Following the release of this story, we were notified by Michelle Pawelski, Communications Manager at South Dakota Mines. Her clarification follows:
“In the article, it states that Priya Saxena cannot graduate in May due to the termination of her SEVIS record. This is incorrect. Priya is on track to graduate and is eligible to participate in commencement if she is allowed to remain in the country and would like to participate in the ceremony on May 10. The suspension of her visa does not affect her ability to complete her degree.
RAPID CITY, S.D. – A graduate student from India who is set to graduate from the South Dakota School of Mines is asking a federal judge for a temporary restraining order after she was notified that her student visa was being suspended.
Priya Saxena filed a motion against U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after she was told this month that her F-1 student visa had been revoked. That happened April 7 when she was notified by the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi that the revocation was based on previously unavailable information that was found after her visa had been granted.
It further notified Saxena that her status had been reported to the Department of Homeland Security for removal proceedings.
Later that day, she was notified by a School of Mines official that her visa had been revoked and that her record in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, had been terminated. That system is maintained by the Department of Homeland Security. The reason cited for the termination was because she was identified in a criminal records search “and/or has had their visa revoked.”
Days earlier, on April 1, Saxena successfully defended her Ph.D. thesis in chemical and biological engineering. She was set to graduate with her doctorate on May 10.
A School of Mines official requested that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reinstate Saxena’s F-1 visa, but the school has received no response, according to her complaint. The school has informed her that she cannot graduate in May because her SEVIS record was terminated, her lawsuit says. She had been working on her doctorate since 2020.
The lawsuit also says Saxena’s only criminal offense in her record was for a misdemeanor traffic offense. That happened in 2021, before her most recent visa had been issued in 2022.
The lawsuit and request for a temporary restraining order include a declaration from Houston, Texas immigration lawyer Dahlia French, who has also worked as in-house council in universities. French asserts that U.S. consulates revoke F-1 visas in misdemeanors that involve driving under the influence offenses, but it’s rare for them to do so with other misdemeanors.
“A SEVIS record can be terminated due to some action by the F-1 student that requires termination; some mistake by the (designated school official) that triggers termination; or some mistake by an immigration agency that creates a termination event,” French writes. “In short, SEVIS record termination does not mean the F-1 student engaged in some misconduct. It can occur even if the student is doing everything required to maintain F-1 visa status.”
The lawsuit cites other students, including a Tufts University student, who have lost their visas and then faced deportation proceedings. The situation for Saxena has caused her “extreme anxiety,” according to the complaint.
“Unlike the Tufts University graduate student and many other students in the news, Saxena has not been involved in any political activity, has not attended any demonstrations, and has not made any statements about controversial public matters,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit argues that her visa revocation will cause far-reaching harms: A visa denial means it will be unlikely that she will be granted immigration status, or allowed into the country.
Saxena, the lawsuit says, is the author of 12 peer-reviewed journal publications.
The student is represented by Rapid City attorney James Leach. The government had not responded Thursday night.
