Trump restoring student visa status: Is it too late to fix the damage?

According to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, more than 4,700 students had their permission to study cancelled this spring

Thousands of international students had their legal status abruptly revoked this spring, leaving some stranded or forced to leave the United States. Now, Trump administration is reinstating them. But for many, it’s too late.

 

A student who had spent nearly ten years building a life in the US found himself on a one-way flight back to South Asia after losing his legal status and job in Houston. “I was terrified of being detained,” he told the Associated Press, requesting anonymity over fears of retaliation.

 

The Trump administration has now begun reversing its decision and restoring the SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) records of affected students. But for those like him — whose US visas were also revoked—there’s no straightforward way back.

 

 

“Revoking a visa or SEVIS status does not just affect the educational side of things, it affects the whole life,” he said, now living with his mother and looking for work in his home country. His credit score has dropped after falling behind on car loans and credit card bills in the US, and he is grieving the recent death of his father.

 

What went wrong

 

According to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), more than 4,700 students had their permission to study cancelled this spring, often with no warning or clear explanation. In court, officials from the Department of Homeland Security revealed that the students’ names had been cross-checked against an FBI-run database of individuals associated with investigations—even those never charged.

 

The student from Houston believes his termination stemmed from a 2021 fraud case that had been dismissed. He had been on Optional Practical Training (OPT), a programme allowing international students to work for up to three years after graduation. He lost his laboratory job soon after his status was cancelled.

 

The current wait time for a US visa appointment in his home country is at least a year, he said.

 

Legal pushback and questions around re-entry

 

In a hearing last week in Oakland, California, lawyers for affected students argued for a nationwide injunction. They said students needed stronger protections, especially since ICE had broadened its criteria for terminating legal status.

 

Government lawyers responded that ICE is already sending reactivation letters to students. Assistant US attorney Elizabeth Kurlan said these letters could be shared with schools and employers, and that delivery should be completed within two weeks.

 

But the plaintiffs’ lawyers questioned the letter’s usefulness, saying it doesn’t address the revoked visas. They also argued that the new ICE policy gives the impression that student records could be cancelled arbitrarily.

 

“Sheela Murthy, president and CEO of the Murthy Law Firm in the US, told Business Standard: “There is certainly panic among students and others in the US, including those on H-1B status and Lawful Permanent Residents. This goes at the very heart of what the US has always stood for, the concept of being the safe haven for freedoms, including the freedom of speech and expression, which is considered at the very bedrock and fundamental to the country and its democracy.”

 

Key points

 

* Over 4,700 student statuses were cancelled this spring

* Many affected were never charged with any crime

* ICE used an FBI database to flag student names

* Government is mailing letters to restore SEVIS status

* Revoked visas remain a barrier for returnees

* Legal challenges are ongoing in federal court

 

For now, many international students remain in limbo—either stuck abroad, waiting for new visas, or trying to piece their lives back together in the US.

 

With inputs from AP