The student visa records lawsuit brought by foreign college students against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ended when plaintiffs dropped the case. The student visa lawsuit came about due to the removal of the student’s data from Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). All the removed information has been restored to the database.

Multiple lawsuits were initially filled on behalf of several foreign students with student visas. The plaintiffs claim the DHS removed their visa records from SEVIS without notification. SEVIS is a database where the DHS holds the information of all foreign students with visas.

Initially, affected students weren’t told why their information was terminated. Immigration officials explained why during the hearing. Foreign students that had their information removed either failed to maintain their status or were identified as criminals under the DHS’ Student Criminal Alien Initiative.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) restored the students’ terminated information to SEVIS. The agency also pledged to form a new policy around SEVIS terminations. The new policy mandates Student Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) information can only be deleted if the State Department revokes the student’s F-1 visa.

The DHS has also explained some visa terminations were only meant to be effective upon departure from the country. So some students wouldn’t have seen immediate consequences. This explanation was enough for the plaintiffs to drop the lawsuit.

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