On May 3, 2019, a federal judge in North Carolina issued an order in favor of international students. The order temporarily prevents the government’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from enforcing a policy memo they issued in 2018 that changed how days of “unlawful presence” are counted following a violation of F, M, or J nonimmigrant status. We explained what this change meant in a blog post at that time – it’s complicated but extremely important; the bottom line impact was that even minor and unintentional violations of student status years could lead to deportation and long bans (3 or 10 years) from the U.S.
The court’s order doesn’t just apply in North Carolina; it applies across the nation. Although it’s temporary the order indicates he’s likely to rule in favor of students in deciding this case. But of course any decision will be appealed to higher courts and the final outcome is uncertain. Stay tuned.
