Trump administration reverses student visa cancellations, uncertainty reigns supreme

Trump, ICE restore international students' legal status

As of Friday, ICE began restoring thousands of student visa registrations, allowing students at institutions like Georgia Tech to breathe a little easier.

ATLANTA - After weeks of uncertainty, thousands of international students are seeing their student visa registration data reinstated.

What we know:

Earlier this month, the Trump administration abruptly removed thousands of foreign students from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems (SEVIS) database which schools and the government use to monitor visa compliance. 

"The reality is, under this circumstance, there was no particular rhyme or reason. Not giving the schools notice, the students notice, nobody. They were just revoking them with no particular need. Again, there was no reason," Michael Urbina, an immigration attorney in Atlanta, told FOX 5. 

Students affected by the removal and those fearful they could be next have contacted Urbina in recent weeks.

The removal of their data left students' legal status in question and sparked more than 100 lawsuits. 

RELATED: Trump admin restores thousands of foreign student visa registrations -- for now

On Friday, the Justice Department announced it was reversing course and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would begin manually restoring the student records.

"They were very clear that they were going to stop the arbitrary revocations right now, but they were working on a more systematic approach on how to revoke them. What that means? Nobody knows, but I guess we'll find out," Urbina said.

Local perspective:

That uncertainty is the source of great concern for international students at the Georgia Institute of Technology. 

"I'm nervous. I think that is the best way to describe it. Uncertainty with what’s going to happen going forward," Riley Smith, an exchange student from New Zealand, told our crew.

"It feels a little surreal. It doesn’t feel like this should be happening," Aarthi Kannan, another exchange student from New Zealand, said.

Both Smith and Kannan are on short-term visas for their semester at Georgia Tech. They live in campus housing designed to bring international students together. 

"I think domestic students benefit a lot from international students. We learn a lot from them, and they learn a lot from us," Smith said.

As the academic year winds down, Smith and Kannan both say they have foreign colleagues and friends considering not going home for fear they may not be allowed back in the country to finish their studies.

"Some people are scared to go home in case something goes wrong," Kannan told us.

What you can do:

Immigration attorney Michael Urbina advises international students to know their options and avoid giving the government any reason to question their status.

"People need to be very aware that this is not the end of the saga; This was just a false start. Let's put it that way, a false start," Urbina said.