United States: District Court Temporarily Blocks F/M/J Ban for Incoming Harvard Students

A Massachusetts federal district court has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from implementing a June 4 presidential proclamation that bans visa issuance and entry to foreign nationals seeking to enter the United States in F, M, or J status in order to begin attending Harvard University. The court order blocks the June 4 proclamation in full, so it also purportedly blocks the Trump administration from enforcing a provision in the proclamation that directs the Secretary of State to consider whether any F, M, or J visa holders currently attending Harvard should have their visas revoked. However, the authority of the Secretary of State to revoke visas is broad and not dependent on presidential proclamation, so visa revocations are still possible.

The court order also temporarily blocks a provision in the June 4 proclamation that directs federal agencies to review whether limitations should be imposed on Harvard’s participation in the SEVP system, which is required to enroll international students. The Trump Administration had already taken separate action in late May to try to deactivate Harvard University’s SEVP certification, and a temporary restraining order from the federal district court quickly blocked that action while litigation on the matter continues. 

Harvard is challenging the SEVP decertification and the June 4 F/M/J proclamation in the same lawsuit. Temporary restraining orders remain in place until June 23 for both while the court determines whether to issue longer-term preliminary injunctions during the litigation. The court has said it expects to issue a decision on an injunction in the coming days. The case is President and Fellows of Harvard College v. DHS, Case No. 1:25-cv-11472 (D. Mass., filed May 23, 2025).