At least one UofM student has legal status reinstated after federal government pullback

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - At least one University of Memphis had their SEVIS record reinstated after five students had their status terminated earlier this month.

Attorney Adam Cohen says it’s a move that arguably places international students out of status.

“It basically makes students among the most monitored categories in the entirety of the U.S. immigration system,” he said.

Not to be confused with a student VISA, Cohen says, the SEVIS system was put in place in the aftermath of 9/11.

The reinstatement comes as the federal government is reversing the termination of legal status for international students after many filed court challenges around the U.S.

Judges around the country had already issued temporary orders restoring the students’ records in a federal database of international students maintained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. The records had been suddenly terminated in recent weeks, often without the students or their schools being notified.

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