MISSOURI — Five international college students in Missouri are suing the Trump administration after their student visas and legal status had been terminated, according to a new lawsuit filed last week.

The students said their student visa registrations had been terminated in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System and have caused them to lose their student status, including employment authorization.

The lawsuit is one of many across the country, as over 900 students at more than 128 colleges and universities have had their visas revoked or legal status recently terminated with little to no notice, according to the Associated Press.

According to our partners at the Post-Dispatch, eight other international students in Missouri, including four in the St. Louis area, are part of another lawsuit filed in Atlanta with 133 plaintiffs.

The lawsuit filed in Missouri states the students believe the only apparent reasons for their visas to be revoked were connected to prior minor legal infractions, and their student registrations were terminated “without notice and without cause.”

According to the lawsuit, these are the students represented:

  • A student from Nigeria attending Truman State University
  • A student from Spain attending Northwest Missouri State University
  • A student from Nepal attending Southeast Missouri State University
  • A student from Bangladesh who previously attending Virginia Tech University and is currently employed in Kansas City
  • Another student from Nigeria is attending Missouri University of Science and Technology and is currently employed in Columbia, Missouri.

Across Missouri, Northwest Missouri State University reported 43 students had their visas revoked in April and March. Missouri State University in Springfield also reported six international students whose SEVIS records and F-1 student statuses were terminated by the Department of Homeland Security without warning.

In St. Louis, Webster University reported 18 international students had their visas revoked. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville also became aware that beginning April 4, the student visas had been revoked of three undergraduates and six former graduates enrolled in their optional practical training program.

Note: Video above is from April 16