Monday's lawsuit, a largely Democrat-led effort, is headed up by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.

"The Trump Administration didn't even attempt to explain the basis for this senseless rule, which forces schools to choose between keeping their international students enrolled and protecting the health and safety of their campuses," Healey said in a statement.

The attorneys general also said that the guidance, "fails to consider the harm to international students and their families whose lives will be upended" and that it "will also cause irreparable harm to the public health and the economy" of their states.

The effort is also the latest pushback on the guidance after California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, announced last week the state would challenge the policy.

Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology also filled lawsuits against the guidance last week and nearly 100 members of Congress sent a letter to DHS urging the department to rescind the policy.

Other states that joined in Monday's lawsuit include: Connecticut, Maryland, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Nevada, Minnesota, New Jersey, Colorado, Delaware, Oregon, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Vermont, and Michigan.

Visa requirements for students have always been strict and coming to the US to take online-only courses has been prohibited.