SBU confirmed that 11 international students’ Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) statuses were reinstated in an email Monday. The decision is a step back from the federal government’s original revocation of more than 1,500 student visas across the country over the past few weeks.
“We are delighted to share that all 11 Stony Brook students whose immigration status was terminated by the federal government several weeks ago have had their status reinstated,” the email said.
SEVIS is a database overseen by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used to maintain and track international student records.
The federal government announced the decision to reinstate students’ SEVIS status on Friday, stating that a new system was being put in place to review international students’ records. Until the new system is implemented, rescinded student records are restored, along with their legal status.
“We believe the [Department of] State will revoke more visas in the future,” Charles Kuck, Founder and Managing Partner of Kuck Baxter Immigration, said.
International students at SBU echoed the same sentiment, and said they still fear their visas could be revoked.
One international student from Colombia on an F-1 visa, who was not one of the 11 students, said he felt “relieved” to hear about the reinstatements, but still feared his legal status would be challenged. The student requested anonymity for fear of deportation. Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish international student at Tufts University, had her visa revoked and was detained after writing a pro-Palestine op-ed in the student newspaper.
“It’s kind of bittersweet, because it does leave me with that feeling of fear — that at any moment anything could happen,” he said. “I’m so scared about it.”
The student said coming to the U.S. was his “lifelong dream,” and the revocations could have taken away “everything [he] worked for.”
The students who regained their status were a mixture of undergraduate and graduate students — with some graduating in May.
SBU confirmed that the students’ on-campus employment could be restored and they could “return their full attention to their academic pursuits,” according to the email.
“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,” Kelli Stump, president of American Immigration Lawyers Association, said in a statement on Friday. “The agency vexatiously overstepped when it revoked student records in SEVIS without, what appears to be, going through the proper vetting channels.”
One student from Vietnam, who is also on an F-1 visa, said the revocations are discouraging him from immigrating to the U.S. Though he was not one of the 11 affected students, he requested anonymity in fear of retaliation as well.
“This really started to push me to find alternatives to the U.S. for living,” he said. The student added that the revocations set a “dangerous precedent.”
In the email, the Provost’s Office also wrote that SBU is “deeply enriched by the perspectives and contributions of our global community,” and it is proud to work with “exceptional international students and scholars.”
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