In a major relief for thousands of international students across the United States, the Trump administration has reversed its controversial decision to terminate student visas, following mounting legal pressure and multiple lawsuits filed nationwide.
The reversal was announced during a federal court hearing in Boston, where one of several ongoing legal challenges was being reviewed. Judges in multiple states had already issued temporary restraining orders to reinstate students’ records in SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System), the federal database used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to monitor international students.
In recent weeks, numerous international students discovered that their SEVIS records had been inexplicably terminated—often without prior notice to them or their universities. The revocations were reportedly triggered by checks in the FBI’s NCIC (National Crime Information Center) database, raising concerns over due process and the lack of transparency.
During a court session in Oakland, a government attorney confirmed that ICE is now taking active steps to manually restore SEVIS records for all affected students. A similar assurance was echoed in a separate Washington court, according to attorney Brian Green, who is representing one of the impacted students.
Green also released a written statement from a federal lawyer that read:
“ICE is developing a policy that will provide a framework for SEVIS record terminations. Until such a policy is issued, the SEVIS records for plaintiffs in this case (and others similarly situated) will remain Active or shall be re-activated if not currently active, and ICE will not modify the record solely based on the NCIC finding that resulted in the recent SEVIS record termination.”
This commitment applies not only to the plaintiffs but also to all international students in similar situations, Green clarified.
Many students who faced visa terminations had no known violations and were never formally accused of wrongdoing, leading to widespread concern across academic institutions. Universities were blindsided by the changes, which came to light during regular compliance checks or via reports from other affected campuses.
With ICE now working to reinstate the records and halt any further terminations pending a new policy, international students and universities are cautiously hopeful for a more stable and transparent visa framework moving forward.
(With inputs from agencies)
