Editor’s note: Due to an editing error, this story incorrectly stated that Xiaotian Liu’s visa had been revoked. In fact, it was his F-1 immigration status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System that was revoked. Lawyers for Liu said Wednesday that they are unaware of the status of his visa.

A federal judge said Wednesday that she will order the government to temporarily reinstate the F-1 status of a Dartmouth College PhD student, which was revoked without explanation last week.

Xiaotian Liu, an international student from China, was one of dozens at universities across the country who lost their student status. Gilles Bissonnette, an attorney for Liu, said the forthcoming order from Judge Samantha Elliott would be the first relief from any federal court that he was aware of since the status changes occurred last Friday.

Elliott’s order will allow Liu, 26, to continue pursuing his research in computer science while the case progresses. Liu has lived in the United States since 2016 and has studied at Dartmouth since 2023.

Lawyers for Liu said he only learned that his status had changed upon receiving an email from Dartmouth late Friday night. A Dartmouth spokesperson said the institution became aware of the status change during a “proactive check” of the federal government’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System. Another community member, who the college declined to identify, also lost their status.

Liu has not received any communication from the federal government explaining the status change. The message Dartmouth received indicated that Liu was either “identified in criminal records check” or had his visa revoked, according to the complaint his lawyers filed. Liu’s lawyers said he has never been charged with a crime and has not received any notification of a visa revocation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Raphael Katz, a lawyer for the federal government, also did not have an explanation in court on Wednesday.

“I don’t have the facts to explain why the change in status happened at this point,” Katz said.

Lawyers for Liu described the status change as “unprecedented.” According to the complaint, changes in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System are typically initiated by institutions of higher education when individuals don’t meet an aspect of the terms of their visa, such as failing to maintain a full course of study or engaging in unauthorized employment.

“We enter a unique moment here where the federal government is taking unilateral action with respect to these holders that it has never in any broad sense taken,” said Bissonnette, who works for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire. “And it has not only put the universities in a profoundly difficult situation with respect to how to respond, but students themselves who have no idea why any of this is happening to them.”

SangYeub Kim, another attorney for Liu, said that his client had been “sitting in fear in his residence not being able to do anything” since learning of the status change last week.

“Our client is relieved,” Bissonnette said following the hearing, at which Liu was not present.

The temporary relief the judge said she would order will last only until there is an additional briefing followed by another hearing at some point in the next two weeks.

Jeremy Margolis can be contacted at jmargolis@monitor.com.