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Harvard filed an amended complaint in federal court Thursday that argues that the decision of foreign students on F and J visas is unconstitutional if the Trump administration intends to participate in the Ivy League’s F and J visas.
More than 7,000 students at Harvard University hold F-1 or J-1 visas. Without these certifications, they will not be able to study, teach or conduct research in the United States, and the ban will also affect their families and dependents.
According to the University's lawsuit, the declaration "lacks any legal basis" and does not apply to any broad immigrant.
“As long as you don’t attend Harvard, non-immigrants can enter the country,” the complaint said.
Trump has not participated in court battle on Harvard's foreign student visa
Harvard University has sued the Trump administration for visa ban, calling it a political vendetta, targeting foreign students, and punishing universities for refusing to comply. (Rick Friedman/AFP via Getty Images)
Harvard believes that the measure is not aimed at "alien humans", but rather it is to pick out Harvard students and call it "government vendetta" rather than a national security measure.
In April, a federal task force led by the Trump administration sent a series of requirements to the university, including ideological screening for students and faculty, “diversity of perspectives” quotas in recruitment and admissions, and punishments for student activist groups.
The government also requires Harvard to report on foreign funding sources and allow the government to monitor internal policies.
When Harvard refused, the government freezes $2.2 billion in research funding. Trump later posted on the "Society of Truth" that if Harvard continues to "promote radical ideology", then Harvard should lose its tax-free status. In another article, he accused the school of recruiting “wake up, radical, idiot” and claimed that it was no longer a great university.
Trump accuses Harvard of "very slow" of handing over information from foreign students
At the opening ceremony of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 29, 2025, the graduate’s hat read “Learn to Change the World.” (Libby O'Neill/Getty Images)
The Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard's SEVP (Student and Exchange Visitor Program) certification a few days later, which allowed the school to sponsor international students, but a federal judge blocked the decision.
Harvard now says the administration is using Trump’s announcement to do things the court has stopped.
The government claims Harvard does not provide complete information about its international student population, but the university says it has submitted all records required by law, and the revocation is an excuse.
"There is no legal reason for unprecedented actions by the government," the university said in a document Thursday.
The revised complaint also shows that Harvard was represented by former special counsel Robert Hur, who interviewed former President Joe Biden.
Harvard University said the Trump administration targets universities specifically. (Getty Image)
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, responded to the lawsuit, saying “trying to succumb to the constitutional right of ownership of Article 2.
"The Trump administration is committed to restoring common sense to our student visa system; no lawsuit or any other lawsuit will change that. We have the law, facts and common sense on our side."
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With the legal battle wages, international students are now facing uncertainty. Jing, a 23-year-old Chinese graduate student intern in Asia, told the Associated Press: "It's very tired; we're all numb now."
Yonas Nuguse, another Ethiopian student, was accepted after the war and the school was closed, and he also told the Associated Press: "I hope the situation is temporary and I can register on time."
Fox News' Louis Casiano and David Spunt contributed to the report.