As US Reinstates Revoked Student Visas, Its Impact On Indians, Others

In a dramatic about-turn, the Trump administration has announced that it will restore the student visa registrations of thousands of foreign students who were previously terminated from a federal database due to minor infractions. 

This decision comes after weeks of intense legal pressure, with over 100 lawsuits filed and more than 50 judges issuing restraining orders to block the terminations.

The terminations, which were made from a database used by universities and the federal government to track foreign students in the US, had caused panic among the affected students. Many had feared that they would lose their legal immigration status and face deportation. Some students had even been blocked from continuing their classes or research, with some cases occurring just weeks before graduation.

The judges who heard the cases expressed frustration with the seemingly arbitrary nature of the terminations and the lack of clarity on whether the students could continue to attend classes or needed to leave the country immediately. The administration’s decision to reverse the terminations was announced in federal court on Friday, with a Justice Department attorney reading from a written statement.

According to the statement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is working on a new policy regarding foreign students studying in the US on F-1 visas. Until this policy is issued, no students will have their online student visa records terminated solely based on criminal history checks that flagged misdemeanor charges and dismissed cases. 

The statement 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 plaintiff(s) in this case (and other similarly situated plaintiffs) will remain active or shall be reactivated 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.”

However, it remains unclear whether the State Department will reverse its decision to cancel the visas of many of the same students. A federal official had previously told a judge that the agency was performing “quality control” on those decisions. Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had canceled the student visas of dozens of foreigners who were involved in pro-Palestinian activism, citing disruptions to US foreign policy.

The recent wave of visa cancellations and terminations from the SEVIS database appeared to target students who had minor brushes with the law. The Justice Department attorney emphasised that ICE maintains the authority to terminate a SEVIS record for other reasons. 

“ICE maintains the authority to terminate a SEVIS record for other reasons, such as if the plaintiff fails to maintain his or her nonimmigrant status after the record is reactivated or engages in other unlawful activity that would render him or her removable from the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act,” the attorney said.

The reversal brings relief to thousands of students who were facing uncertainty and fear about their future in the US.