358 international students regain SEVIS status in a significant settlement with DHS
The US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia approved the stipulations presented by the students. Their SEVIS records will now reflect 'active' status retroactively, with no gaps in immigration status. This move ensures that the termination of their student status is treated as though it never occurred.
The decision also extends to the F-2 dependents of these F-1 visa holders. Spouses and children of the affected students will receive identical protections and restorations under the settlement.
As per Lubna's report, a major concern raised by the students was the impact of the termination on work authorizations such as Optional Practical Training (OPT) and Curricular Practical Training (CPT). Under the agreement, the original end dates of their training programs will be reinstated, and any unemployment days caused by the termination will be removed from official records. This measure is crucial, as exceeding 90 days of unemployment during OPT can jeopardize an international student's visa status. Additionally, the agreement bars Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from using the same National Crime and Information Center (NCIC) records that led to the original terminations, records that often reflected only minor infractions like traffic or parking violations.The settlement also neutralises any potential impact the SEVIS terminations could have had on the students' future immigration filings. It guarantees that the terminations alone will not be used negatively in any future application processes.
The students were represented by a coalition of law firms under the IMMPACT Litigation network—Bless Litigation, Joseph and Hall, Kuck Baxter, and Siskind Susser. Speaking to The Times of India , immigration attorney Charles Kuck said, 'This settlement gives us more than we believe we could have obtained from a federal court judge's order and are grateful to restore our 358 plaintiffs to their proper F-1 status, without interruption. We look forward to moving against Department of State in a separate legation to restore the unlawfully revoked visas to the international students.'
(With inputs from TOI)
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