USA to restore international students’ revoked SEVIS records

At the end of March, Secretary for State Marco Rubio said that more than 300 student visas had been revoked in relation to pro-Palestine campus protests and that more were being revoked every day. A subsequent wave of revocations of Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records appears to have heralded an expansion of scope to dismissed criminal charges or other minor offences.

According to a tracker published by USA-based media outlet Inside Higher Ed, 1,879 international students at more than 280 universities and colleges had had their status changed as of April 25th, while the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) said that more than 4,800 student records had been terminated.

Once a student’s SEVIS record has been terminated and/or a visa has been revoked, the student may be at risk of apprehension, detention and removal proceedings, the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration explained in a fact sheet on the situation.

However, during a federal court hearing on April 25th, US Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Kurlan said that the status of students would be restored in SEVIS.

More than 100 lawsuits have been filed by international students who had lost their status, and in more than 50 cases across 23 states judges ordered the administration to temporarily undo revocations and terminations.

Immigration officials are now working on a new system for reviewing compliance and revoking student visas.

“ICE is developing a policy that will provide a framework for SEVIS to 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,” Politico reported Kurlan as saying in court.

“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.

Reuters quoted a Department of Homeland Security Spokesperson as saying that the government was not changing course on student visa revocations, but was restoring SEVIS records “for people who had not had their visa revoked”.

Recent analysis of 1,483 student visa revocations and record terminations by NAFSA Association of International Educators showed that students from more than 40 countries had been affected, with India (309) and China (308) the most commonly affected, followed by South Korea (51), Saudi Arabia (45), Nigeria (44), Nepal (31), Bangladesh (26), Colombia (22), Mexico (21) and Iran (18).

NAFSA said that the revocations were across all types of institution and that there was no transparency on the grounds for the revocations or any clear process for determining what the charges were.

Fanta Aw, Executive Director of the NAFSA, said on Linkedin that the association had already received indications of students’ SEVIS records being restored.

“We are closely tracking this positive development and remain deeply relieved by the news – while knowing that much more work lies ahead,” she said.

“We are grateful for the extensive media coverage that helped bring national attention to the challenges international students have faced. We also recognize and deeply appreciate the many immigration lawyers who have worked tirelessly to defend students impacted by visa revocations and SEVIS terminations.”

AILA President Kelli Stump said, “The new ICE policy announcement regarding the reinstatement of international students’ records in SEVIS in response to dozens of lawsuits filed across the country is welcome news. The agency vexatiously overstepped when it revoked student records in SEVIS without, what appears to be, going through the proper vetting channels.

“Across the country and the world, students, universities, and attorneys are breathing a collective sigh of relief today and at least for now. It’s a sad reality that this administration’s chaotic policies are the new normal. As we move forward, it is crucial to continue to address and rectify these harms and other similar threats to ensure that such overreach does not happen again.”

Just prior to Friday’s announcement by the Justice Department, the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) unlawful mass termination of SEVIS records for F-1 students and participants in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program.

Miriam Feldblum, President and CEO of the Presidents’ Alliance said, “The unlawful termination of student records without due process strikes at the heart of higher education’s mission. Colleges and universities drive innovation, research, and workforce growth by fostering global talent – but they can’t do that when students’ futures are derailed without explanation or when fear and uncertainty diminish our global competitiveness and reputation.

“These actions deter future students from studying here in the U.S., and hinder campus administrators from carrying out their work by the arbitrary upending of established regulations and processes.”

Previously, the Presidents’ Alliance submitted an amicus brief in a case led by the American Association of University Professors against the government, supported by 86 other institutions and associations, including AIRC and NACAC.