A University at Buffalo graduate from India whose student visa was revoked earlier this month by the U.S. State Department filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday in Buffalo seeking to return to his post-graduate training program.
But even before his lawyers filed the lawsuit, Kiran Siddapura Manjunatha left the country out of fear he would be deported.
“Kiran has experienced incredible stress and was so afraid of detention and being sent to a foreign country, like El Salvador, he immediately left the United States,” according to the lawsuit.
President Trump said his administration would deport foreign students involved in pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, but the government appears to have widened its crackdown. A traffic ticket in 2021 apparently is at the root of Manjunatha’s visa problem.
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Across the nation, at least 50 students have sued over concern for their legal status in this country, according to an Inside Higher Ed review of court records. A lawsuit in Atlanta late Tuesday added 116 foreign students to the 17 who initially sued the government.
Manjunatha appears to be the first in Western New York to sue over a revoked visa.
More than 210 colleges and universities have identified 1,300-plus international students and recent graduates who have had their legal status changed by the State Department, including 13 at UB. Last week, UB confirmed 13 F-1 visa holders had their records in the Exchange Visitor Information System “unexpectedly terminated” by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program.
While the university did not have information about every case, in the cases for which it has details, the basis for revocation appears to be traffic offenses, a university official told The Buffalo News.
That appears to be the case with Manjunatha, who was charged with driving with an invalid license in Indiana when he first arrived in the United States.
Manjunatha graduated in 2023 with a master’s degree in financial mathematics, and he completed a one-year, post-degree practical training program. Until earlier this month, he was in a two-year extended training program open to science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates.
As part of that post-degree program, he held “a prestigious position working at Citibank,” according to his lawsuit.
But then came the April 2 notice that the Department of State revoked his student visa. Two days later, he received a notice from the university that ICE terminated his record in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System for failing to maintain status.
“The SEVIS termination effectively stripped Kiran of his ability to work, and he was told he could no longer remain in the United States,” according to the lawsuit.
His lawsuit ties his visa revocation to the Indiana traffic ticket four years ago.
When he arrived to the U.S. in 2021, Manjunatha had a driver’s license issued in India, which he mistakenly thought would be valid in Indiana.
He rented a car from a rental company, whose employee told Manjunatha he could drive with the foreign license, according to the lawsuit.
Police in Indiana charged him with a misdemeanor for driving without a valid license. He performed 16 hours of community service and the criminal case was dismissed one year later.
“Kiran has no other criminal activity and always maintained status in the United States,” according to his lawsuit.
He was most recently inspected and admitted to the United States in February.
“Kiran had maintained status and his offense for driving without a license was not for a crime of violence,” according to the lawsuit. “Kiran remains highly valued and supported by the University of Buffalo and Citibank.”
But unless he regains his visa and lawful status to be in the United States, he has lost his ability to finish his post-degree program.
He also worries that the “false, derogatory information” about him in the government’s system for maintaining information on nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors could render him permanently inadmissible to the United States.
“Any false label that he is a national security or foreign policy threat will impact travel to another country,” according to his lawsuit.
“Kiran was in full compliance with the terms of his F-1 status, and he had not engaged in any conduct that could result in the termination of SEVIS or his status,” according to his lawsuit.
The lawsuits asks the court to set aside “the unlawful actions of defendants, reinstate Kiran’s status, restore his good name, and take all measures afforded by law to place Kiran in the legal status he was in on April 1.”
Jesse M. Bless, a Massachusetts attorney representing Manjunatha, could not be reached for comment.
The lawsuit named as defendants Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Todd Lyons, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Patrick Lakamp can be reached at plakamp@buffnews.com
