UTRGV international students file lawsuit over visa revocation

Four international students from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley who abruptly had their visas revoked have filed a federal lawsuit in Brownsville against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its officials.

The students include Hugo Adrian Villar Castellanos, of Mexico, who is enrolled in the physics doctoral program and resides in Brownsville; Shishir Timilsena, of Nepal, who is also enrolled in the doctoral program, but lives in Edinburg; Amir Gholani, of Iran, who is enrolled in the finance doctoral program and lives in Edinburg; and Julio Dylan Sanchez Wong, of Mexico, who is enrolled in the computer science bachelor’s program and lives in Edinburg.

They are also suing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, Acting Director Todd Lyons.

The action comes after UTRGV last week confirmed that nine of its international students had their visas revoked among hundreds at colleges across the country.

“UTRGV has been notified that the records of nine international students have been terminated in SEVIS by federal authorities,” Patrick Gonzales, vice president of university marketing and communications for UTRGV, said in a statement. “We have alerted the affected students and are committed to providing guidance within the parameters of law.”

The lawsuit seeks to vacate DHS’s termination of their visas.

This is a developing story.

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