Judge rules against U.S. government in NIL-visa lawsuit - ESPN

A federal judge has denied the U.S. government's argument to categorically block international college athletes from obtaining the type of visas typically used by professional athletes.

Louisiana-based Judge Brian Jackson denied on Friday the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Arizona State basketball player Last-Tear Poa. The judge's order does not resolve Poa's case but leaves the door open for her and many other international athletes to apply for a type of visa that would make it easier for them to make money on American soil while playing college sports.

Poa, an Australian point guard who played her past three seasons at LSU, filed a lawsuit earlier this year after she was denied a P-1A visa, which is the document many international professional athletes use to make money while competing in the United States. Poa is currently in the country on an F-1 student visa, which prohibits her from working while in the United States. College athletes are now allowed to be paid directly by their schools as well as by third parties for endorsement deals, but it remains unclear whether international athletes who accept those payments are putting their immigration status in jeopardy.

«It's a critically important issue because it's a real question as to whether or not students will be violating their status if they're competing in the NCAA and getting paid,» said Amy Maldonado, who has represented Poa in her case along with fellow sports immigration attorney Ksenia Maiorova.

USCIS did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.

Lawyers for USCIS argued in court documents that an athlete must be in America «solely» for the purpose of playing their sport in