Judge Rules UW-Madison International Student Can’t Be Deported For Now
Federal authorities demand Krish Isserdasani leave U.S. just weeks before his degree.
University of Wisconsin-Madison. Angela Major/WPR
A federal judge has put a hold on immigration officials’ move to deport an international student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In an order released Tuesday, Federal District Judge William Conley issued a temporary restraining order blocking federal immigration authorities from terminating UW-Madison student Krish Isserdasani’s F-1 student visa.
Isserdasani is a 21-year-old student from India who is just weeks away from earning a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering.
His student visa was unexpectedly terminated this month. Federal authorities demanded he leave the country by May 2, eight days before his graduation.
The request for a temporary restraining order was brought by Madison attorney Shabnam Lotfi.
In the request, Lotfi said, “these international students have done absolutely nothing wrong. They have followed U.S. laws and fully complied with the terms of their student status. They do not deserve this. America must speak out against this injustice and not allow the Administration to distort the facts for their own political purposes.”
According to a court document, it appears the visa termination is tied to an incident last year when Isserdasani was arrested for misdemeanor disorderly conduct. That was on Nov. 22, 2024, after he and his friends got into an argument with another group of people after leaving a bar.
Although he was arrested, prosecutors declined to pursue charges. As a result, Isserdasani never had to appear in court and believed the matter was resolved with no possible immigration consequences, according to court documents. Aside from that encounter, Isserdasani has had no other interactions with law enforcement.
On April 4, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s International Student Services office informed Isserdasani by email that his visa had been terminated.
The reason: “Otherwise failing to maintain status — Individual identified in criminal records check and/or has had their VISA revoked,” the email read.
In his order, Conley said federal authorities offered nothing to suggest Isserdasani deserves to be deported before earning his degree.
If deported before graduating, Isserdasani’s family stands to lose $17,500 in tuition for the semester. The family has invested approximately $240,000 in his education, according to court documents.
“He was given no warning, no opportunity to explain or defend himself, and no chance to correct any potential misunderstanding before his F-1 student visa record was terminated in SEVIS,” Conley wrote.
UW-Madison spokesperson John Lucas said because the decision was a private action undertaken independently from UW-Madison, the school does not have a comment at this time. But, Lucas said UW-Madison continues to support the international community with resources and information.
This month the federal government revoked student visas for hundreds of international students across the country.
That included 15 current UW-Madison students and 12 recent alumni who work on campus. Another 16 students from Universities of Wisconsin schools had visas revoked, including 13 from UW-Milwaukee.
In Wisconsin, school officials have said they were not involved in or aware of the visa terminations.
“While it is not uncommon to see terminations for many reasons, UW-Madison and peer institutions are seeing an elevated volume and frequency over the past week,” a UW-Madison statement said.
While the university said it doesn’t believe the visa terminations are related to participation in free speech events or political activity, the rationale is unclear.
Also included in the ruling is Hamidreza Khademi, a 34-year-old citizen of Iran who has been enrolled in a master’s degree program in architecture at Iowa State University with an F-1 student visa since 2021.
Khademi was arrested in February 2024 after an officer tried to pull him over for not using his turn signal while changing lanes.
The Texas Department of Public Safety determined there was no violation, according to the order. No charges were filed.
An email from Iowa State on April 10 informed him of the visa termination, despite having no other law enforcement violations.
Conley declined to rule on Khademi’s case, questioning whether the claim was filed in the right court.
Both Isserdasani and Khademi are represented by Lotfi.
Conley asked both parties to file additional briefs by April 16.
Judge: UW-Madison international student can’t be deported for now was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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