DOE NO. 1 v. NOEM

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 28, 2025
Docket2:25-cv-01962
StatusUnknown

This text of DOE NO. 1 v. NOEM (DOE NO. 1 v. NOEM) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
DOE NO. 1 v. NOEM, (E.D. Pa. 2025).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

STUDENT DOE NO. 1,

Plaintiff,

v. CIVIL ACTION NO. 25-1962 KRISTI NOEM, et al., Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION Rufe, J. April 28, 2025 Plaintiff Student Doe No. 11 brings claims under the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”) and the Fifth Amendment against the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), and the Acting Director of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), arguing that his rights were violated when DHS terminated Plaintiff’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (“SEVIS”) record without notice. Plaintiff moves for a Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”), seeking to enjoin Defendants from terminating Plaintiff’s F-1 student status records from SEVIS and retroactively restore Plaintiff’s status, as well as prevent Defendants from “directly or indirectly enforcing, implementing, or otherwise taking any action imposing legal consequences as the result of the decision to terminate Plaintiff’s SEVIS records. . . including . . . detention or initiation of removal proceedings.”2 For the reasons discussed below, Plaintiff’s motion will be granted.

1 Plaintiff filed a Motion for Leave to Proceed Using a Pseudonym, to Require Redaction of Identifying Information from Filings, and to Close All Hearings to the Public [Doc. No. 18], which the Court granted in part and denied in part for reasons stated on the record during a Temporary Restraining Order hearing held on April 24, 2025. See Order [Doc. No. 23]. The parties have confirmed that Defendants are aware of Doe’s identity. Therefore, referring to Plaintiff as Doe in the hearings and in this Opinion will not prejudice Defendants. 2 Pl.’s Am. Proposed Order ¶¶ 1-3 [Doc. No. 20]. I. BACKGROUND3 A. F-1 Visa Program and SEVIS Status A foreign student may enter the United States on “nonimmigrant status”4 to complete a course of study at an approved educational institution.5 The Department of State will issue an F- 1 visa allowing the student entry to the United States, and the student is permitted to remain in the United States until the completion of their program.6 Even if an F-1 visa is revoked, a student

is permitted to continue their studies, but upon finalization of their program, the SEVIS record is terminated and the student must obtain a new visa from a consulate or embassy outside of the United States before returning to the United States.7 Revocation of an F-1 visa may be grounds for deportability in a removal proceeding, but that may be contested in the removal hearing.8 The immigration judge may dismiss terminate proceedings where a visa is revoked, so long as a student is able to remain in good standing.9 A nonimmigrant student’s legal status is governed by the F-1 visa system, which is administered by ICE through its Student and Exchange Visitor Program (“SEVP”).10 SEVP regulations govern the termination of F-1 student status in SEVIS.11 Termination of SEVIS

status can only be done in one of two ways: (1) if a student fails to maintain status, or (2) through

3 For purposes of the TRO, the Court assumes all facts pled in the Complaint and in the Motion for TRO as true. 4 “Nonimmigrant status” refers to a type of temporary visa status. 5 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(F)(i); 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(f). 6 Compl. ¶ 13 [Doc. No. 1]. 7 ICE Policy Guidance 1004-04 –Visa Revocations (June 7, 2010), available at https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/visa_revocations_1004_04.pdf [https://perma.cc/J4P9-2ZD2]. 8 8 U.S.C. § 1201(i). 9 8 C.F.R. § 1003.18(d)(1)(ii)(B). 10 Jie Fang v. Dir. U.S. Immigr. & Customs Enf’t, F.3d 172, 175 (3d. Cir. 2019). 11 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(f). an agency-initiated termination of status. The first category, failure to maintain status, occurs when a student voluntarily or inadvertently falls out of compliance with the F-1 visa requirements.12 8 C.F.R. § 214.1(g) specifically states that “[a] nonimmigrant’s conviction in a jurisdiction in the United States for a crime of violence for which a sentence of more than one year imprisonment may be imposed . . . constitutes a failure to maintain status under [the Act].”13

The second category, agency-initiated termination of status, may occur under three circumstances: (1) a previously granted waiver under INA § 212(d)(3) or (4) is revoked; (2) a private bill to confer lawful permanent residence is introduced in Congress; or (3) DHS publishes a notification in the Federal Register identifying national security, diplomatic, or public safety reasons for termination.14 Otherwise, DHS cannot unilaterally terminate nonimmigrant status.15 A student who has not violated their F-1 status, even if the visa is revoked, cannot have a SEVIS record terminated based on revocation of visa alone: the student is permitted to pursue their course of study, but upon departure from the United States, the SEVIS record is terminated and the student must obtain a new visa prior to returning to the United States.16 Revocation of a

visa may be a basis for deportability in removal hearings, but this may be contested and SEVIS status is still not revoked until an immigration judge enters a final removal order.17

12 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(f). 8 C.F.R. §§ 214.1(e)-(g) enumerates three specific circumstances under which certain conduct “constitutes a failure to maintain status”: engaging in unauthorized employment; providing false information to DHS; and being convicted of a crime of violence with a potential sentence of more than a year. 13 8 C.F.R. § 214.1(g). 14 8 C.F.R. § 214.1(d). 15 Fang v. Dir. United States Immigr. & Customs Enf’t, 935 F.3d 172, 185 n.100 (3d Cir. 2019). 16 ICE Policy Guidance 1004-04 –Visa Revocations (June 7, 2010), available at https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/visa_revocations_1004_04.pdf [https://perma.cc/J4P9-2ZD2]. 17 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(B); 8 U.S.C. § 1201(i). B. Factual Background Plaintiff Doe is a masters student at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.18 Plaintiff is enrolled full-time.19 In May of 2024, Temple University issued Plaintiff Form I-20, a “Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status,” which would permit Plaintiff to enter the United States as an F-1 visa student in order to begin his program.20 Plaintiff’s program

is two years, or four semesters in length.

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