Concordia students sue DHS over ‘lawless’ termination of visa status

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A lawsuit filed on behalf of five Concordia University post-grad students in St. Paul alleges that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revoked their F-1 student status without warning or any "meaningful explanation."

Concordia students lawsuit

What we know:

According to the filing on April 21, on behalf of Salma Rameez Shaik, Akhil Pothuraju, Nithish Babu Challa, Shyam Vardhan Reddy Yarkareddy, and Almas Abdul – they were informed by the school of their status termination from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), which leaves them without lawful status to remain in the U.S.

Concordia University instructed them to "stop working immediately and to consider leaving the country," the lawsuit alleges.

Lawsuit challenges

Dig deeper:

Collectively, the students challenge the "arbitrary and lawless" termination of their F-1 student status, saying that being provided no notice to object violated due process under the Fifth Amendment, and that the government had no grounds to terminate them.

According to the lawsuit, Concordia notified the students of the status revocation in an email that stated, "the U.S. government believes you have violated your status" while also encouraging its recipients to "consult with an immigration attorney immediately."

All five students range from 24 to 27 years old and were either studying or interning for companies in the information technology and management fields.

As part of their post-grad training they worked or interned at jobs directly relevant to their degree, in time "becoming Minnesota community members" and "contributing valuable skills to American companies," the lawsuit states.

However, the lawsuit alleges the "timing and uniformity of these terminations leave little question that DHS has adopted a nationwide policy, whether written or not, of mass termination of student status."

Immigration issues under Trump

The backstory:

An F-1 student visa refers only to the document that non-citizen students receive to enter the U.S., while an F-1 student status refers to students’ official immigration classification once they enter.

An academic institution must obtain formal approval from DHS before it can sponsor a student’s F-1 status.

There have been 10 such immigration lawsuits filed in Minnesota since January 30.

Student charges

Dig deeper:

Several of the students involved in the lawsuit have minor infractions on their record.

In February 2024, Challa pleaded guilty to a traffic misdemeanor for driving without a license and insurance, receiving a 30-day suspended sentence and two days of community service.

In March 2024, Yarkareddy pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated and received a 180-day suspended sentence, three years of probation and served five days of community service.

In January 2025, Shaik pleaded guilty to a careless driving misdemeanor and received a 30-day suspended sentence and two days of community service.

Abdul has had a total of six traffic infractions for driving without a license, driving without insurance, and speeding – all petty misdemeanors.

However, Pothuraju has not been charged with any criminal or civil infractions.