A federal court in New Hampshire temporarily restored the F-1 status of a Dartmouth College doctoral student whose record was terminated by the Department of Homeland Security without notice.
Xiaotian Liu’s status was removed from a Student and Exchange Visitor database this month, jeopardizing his ability to complete a PhD in computer science.
In an emergency hearing Wednesday, Judge Samantha D. Elliott of the US District Court for the District of New Hampshire granted a temporary restraining order preserving Xiaotian’s status.
His lawsuit was one of several filed in district courts over the past week challenging the removal of student records from the so-called SEVIS database, which is maintained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Termination of those records for international students—in many cases without notice to them or their colleges—effectively puts them out of legal status, making them ineligible to continue studies or work legally in the US.
Many of the instances of terminated status followed revocations of student visas by the State Department, but the reasons cited by DHS in many cases have been minor infractions or arrests that never resulted in a conviction.
In a complaint filed April 7, Xiaotian said it was unclear what prompted the termination of his SEVIS record. Dartmouth informed him that a notation in the database cited a failure to maintain status.
The termination meant he was no longer eligible to continue working as a research assistant on campus, putting his research and progress toward finishing a PhD at risk.
The judge’s order means Xiaotian can continue his studies and work on campus, said Gilles Bissonnette, legal director of the ACLU of New Hampshire and counsel in the suit.
“International students are a vital community in our state’s universities, and no administration should be allowed to circumvent the law to unilaterally strip students of status, disrupt their studies, and put them at risk of deportation,” he said in a statement.
Xiaotian was also represented by Shaheen & Gordon PA.
DHS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the order.
The case is Liu v. Noem, D.N.H., No. 1:25-cv-00133, order issued 4/10/25.
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editor responsible for this story: