[Update: Mon., Apr. 28, 2025, 12:55pm] On Monday, April 28, UCSB spokesperson Kiki Reyes announced that another four previously revoked student visas have been reinstated, bringing the total number of reinstated F-1s to 11. Ten are current UCSB students, and one is a recent graduate, Reyes said. One student’s visa status remains inactive.
[Original Story] Seven international students affiliated with UC Santa Barbara got their visas back on Friday after the Department of Justice (DOJ) backtracked on their sweeping student visa terminations in federal court. Twelve UCSB students — up from the originally reported 10 — had their F-1 visas terminated earlier this month at the Trump administration’s directive, said UCSB spokesperson Kiki Reyes. The status of the remaining five students whose visas are still inactive is unknown at this time.
Before the DOJ succumbed to pressure from the courts to reissue the canceled visas of more than 1,500 international students across the country, UC President Michael Drake informed faculty that 159 students across the system had their visa statuses revoked. The UC system had contracted with outside legal counsel to help deal with the issue, Drake added.
Faculty members say that most of the visa revocations at UCSB were likely due to previous minor run-ins with the law, such as traffic infractions. Other universities saw canceled visas due to student involvement in protesting the war in Gaza. Professors with knowledge of the matter say that only one or two of UCSB’s affected students were involved in campus protests or advocacy groups.
The Trump administration has called this a temporary move while they look more deeply into international students’ legal status, and the possibility of removal from the United States remains possible.
