The US is reinstating records for international students. For some, it's
too late
[May 19, 2025]
By MAKIYA SEMINERA, ANNIE MA and JANIE HAR
After the government terminated his legal status in the U.S., one
student abruptly lost his laboratory job in Houston and, fearing
detention, he returned to his home country in south Asia on a one-way
ticket.
The Trump administration later reversed course in its expansive
crackdown on international students, but there was a major obstacle. The
student cannot return because his American visa was revoked.
Without it, he’s “stranded,” said the student, who spoke on condition of
anonymity for fear of retaliation.
As the government begins reinstating students' records, many face a
daunting and complicated path toward rebuilding their lives. For those
who left, there is no guarantee they can return. Others have faced
challenges reenrolling in school and returning to jobs.
Mental anguish from their ordeals linger, as do feelings of
vulnerability. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has expanded the
grounds for terminating a student’s legal status, leaving many to fear
they could be targeted again.
A total of more than 4,700 international students had their permission
to study in the U.S. canceled this spring, with little notice or
explanation. In court hearings, Department of Homeland Security
officials said they ran the names of student visa holders through an
FBI-run database that contains the names of suspects and people who have
been arrested, even if they were never charged with a crime or had
charges dropped.
At a court hearing last week in Oakland, California, lawyers for
international students sought a nationwide injunction they said would
protect their clients and others across the country.
But government attorneys said that wasn't necessary because ICE was
mailing status reactivation letters to affected students. It likely will
take two weeks for all students to receive their letter, which can then
be shared with universities and employers, assistant U.S. attorney
Elizabeth Kurlan said.
The plaintiffs' lawyers said the letter is meaningless, arguing ICE’s
new policy suggests student records can be terminated on a whim. There's
also no evidence ICE has asked the State Department to restore revoked
visas, the plaintiffs' attorneys said.
A student who left faces a long wait for another US visa
The man in Houston left within about a week of learning his legal status
had been terminated. Around that time, he also received an email that
the visa he used to enter the U.S. had been revoked. He believes his
termination stemmed from a 2021 fraud case that was dismissed.
Over nearly a decade he had built a life in the U.S., where he was
enrolled in “optional practical training,” which allows foreign students
to stay and work for up to three years on their student visas. In his
home country, he is now looking for work and living with his mother.
The wait time for a U.S. visa interview is at least a year, he said.
Even if he got another visa, returning would be complicated because of
his financial situation. He had a car loan and credit cards in the U.S.
that he can’t afford to pay after losing his job, and his credit score
has since dropped, he said.
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“Revoking a visa or revoking a SEVIS status does not just affect the
educational side of things, it affects the whole life,” said the
student, who has struggled with feelings of loneliness and also
grief over his father's recent death.
SEVIS is the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems
database that tracks international students’ compliance with their
visa status.
Students who left the country may not have known their rights or had
the resources to hire a lawyer, said Ben Loveman, an immigration
attorney. They now will have a harder time being reinstated, he
said.
“There were huge consequences,” Loveman said.
Some students see new risk to studying in the US
For a Nepali programmer in Texas who had his status terminated, the
ordeal brought up a mistake he thought he had left in the past.
The programmer, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear or
retaliation, was arrested four years ago for drunken driving. He
said he took responsibility for his actions, performing community
service hours, serving probation and paying fines. The judge told
him the records could be sealed after two years, but the case
appears to explain why he was targeted by immigration authorities.
“I followed everything,” he said. “If they’re going to take it all,
at least give me due process.”
His status has since been restored, and the programmer, who is on an
OPT program, has gone back to his job. But the episode hasn’t faded
from his mind.
If the right opportunity emerged in another country like New Zealand
or Canada, he said he would take it and leave.
A student at Iowa State University who also requested anonymity out
of concern about being targeted, said he is looking for options to
leave the U.S., after what he describes as a “dark period.”
The Ph.D. student said his status termination pushed him to a mental
breaking point. He had a plane ticket back home to Bangladesh
reserved. He hardly left his apartment, and when he did, he felt he
was being followed.
He attributes his termination to pending charges against him for
marijuana possession, but he said he hadn't been convicted.
After his status reinstatement, he restarted a teaching assistant
job he had lost. Then, he had to catch up on grading almost three
weeks of assignments for dozens of students.
While he's relieved to get back to school, he's confident about his
decision to leave by the end of the year — either for home or
Europe. The degree is not worth the risk of another status
termination, he said.
“How much should I suffer to continue here?” he said.
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