The Trump administration on Friday moved to restore the legal status of thousands of international students whose records had been terminated in a federal database, a reversal that followed a wave of legal challenges.
The decision was announced during court proceedings and impacts numerous students who had lost their standing, often with little explanation or for minor legal infractions.
Immigration officials stated the action is temporary as the administration develops a new system for reviewing the records of foreign students and academics in the United States.
Despite the restoration of status, administration officials indicated that efforts to terminate individual Student Visas could continue in the future based on this forthcoming review process.
The terminations had caused significant anxiety and confusion among students and universities alike, with some students reporting being blocked from classes or research despite being close to graduation. Many students filed individual lawsuits contesting the loss of their legal status.
The affected students were removed from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, the federal database used by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to track international students. The administration will restore these records in the interim.
The abrupt nature of the initial terminations and the subsequent reversal adds another layer of uncertainty for the international academic community navigating the current immigration landscape.
According to a Justice Department lawyer, Joseph F. Carilli, work has begun on the new system for reviewing student records.
