In a major policy reversal, the Trump administration has reinstated visas for hundreds of foreign students whose legal status had been abruptly terminated, causing widespread panic across U.S. campuses.
Government officials confirmed the decision on Friday, following an avalanche of over 100 lawsuits filed by affected students.
According to a BBC report, Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Kurlan informed a federal court in California that immigration officials are now developing a more transparent system for reviewing and terminating visas for international students.
The reversal comes after an estimated 1,800 students across 280 universities were left vulnerable, according to Inside Higher Ed.
The mass visa terminations, many linked to students' participation in political protests or minor criminal charges like driving infractions, triggered fear of immediate deportations. Some students even fled the U.S. voluntarily to avoid detention.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio had earlier defended the revocations, stating that visas could be canceled if a student’s actions were deemed "contrary to U.S. interests."
However, legal experts and immigrant rights advocates, such as Elora Mukherjee of Columbia Law School, warned that losing SEVIS records placed students at extreme risk.
"Losing their SEVIS records left students vulnerable to immigration actions — and possible detention and deportation," Mukherjee said.
The Justice Department announced that student records would be restored in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), the database that tracks foreign students’ visa compliance.
However, Kurlan clarified that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will still retain the authority to terminate SEVIS records on other grounds.
The policy shift marks a significant victory for student advocacy groups and underscores the ongoing tensions between immigration enforcement and academic freedom under the Trump administration.