As of April 26, 2025, the U.S. government has reversed the termination of SEVIS records for over 1,800 international students studying in the U.S., and has temporarily halted any further terminations. At UC Berkeley, all 23 students with terminated immigration records have been restored to Active status.
The reversal of SEVIS record terminations come after several lawsuits were filed against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where plaintiffs (students) argued that SEVIS terminations violated administrative law, as students were not given notice, opportunity to respond, or clear evidence supporting the action.
While DHS and ICE have currently paused terminations based solely on National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database checks and restored previously terminated SEVIS records, the government has indicated it is working on developing a new formal policy for terminating SEVIS records. BIO will continue to monitor the ongoing changes to the immigration landscape impacting our international clients.