As of late Sunday, the federal government has restored the visa statuses of all 27 University of Wisconsin international students and recent alumni who had their visas terminated by the federal government the week of April 6.
The announcement comes after a government lawyer announced in a federal court on Friday that the Trump administration will restore international students’ terminated Student and Exchange Visitor Information System records.
SEVIS is an online database used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to track whether or not international students are meeting the requirements necessary to maintain their legal status.
In a statement released April 28, UW Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said she thanks community members, local, state and federal officials who helped these students.
“I’m relieved and grateful that these records terminations have been reversed,” Mnookin said in the statement. “This situation was deeply troubling, upended lives and created both fear and harm.”
The university will continue to monitor the situation throughout the summer and the upcoming academic year, UW Vice Provost and Dean of the university’s International Division Frances Vavrus said in the statement.
