Ph.D. student Xiaotian Liu GR dropped his lawsuit against the Trump administration after his F-1 student immigration status was reinstated on Aug. 8. The New Hampshire chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the New England-based law firm Shaheen and Gordon represented Liu after his immigration record was abruptly deleted on April 4.
In the interim, Liu was permitted to continue his doctoral studies and work as a research assistant — after the federal court of New Hampshire temporarily restored Liu’s student status on April 9.
“With the administration’s backtracking of its policy to harm international students through the SEVIS record process and the administration’s agreement to not revoke his student status absent a change in circumstances, Mr. Liu is pleased this case is resolved,” legal director of the ACLU Gilles Bissonnette wrote in an email statement. “He can now continue his studies without fear that his April 4 SEVIS record termination will hinder his ability to pursue the research he loves.”
Liu was one of thousands of students whose status was removed without prior notice from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System — an online portal of the Department of Homeland Security that keeps track of international students.
In late April, the Trump administration suddenly reversed course on its nationwide student visa revocations and announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would reinstate immigration records for international students whose records had been previously terminated.
In the dismissal, DHS stated that “the effect of this retroactive activation is as though the termination did not happen.” The document also clarifies that while Liu’s SEVIS record was deleted, his F-1 student status was never terminated.
In April, the College also confirmed that, in addition to Liu, another student’s SEVIS record had been revoked. The status of this student is unclear.
College spokesperson Jana Barnello wrote in an email statement that the College is “pleased” that the “situation has been resolved.”
“Dartmouth welcomes and remains committed to supporting its international students, faculty, and staff, who are highly valued members of the Dartmouth community.”
Liu did not respond to a request for comment.
Vidushi Sharma ’27 is a managing editor and news reporter. She is from Hanover, N.H. and is majoring in Government and minoring in International Studies and Sociology. On campus, Vidushi is a Dickey Center War and Peace Fellow, an educational access advisor for the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact and an associate editor for the Dartmouth Law Journal.
