University says visas for people connected to UAA reinstated, ACLU files lawsuit on behalf of former student

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The federal government reversed its decision to revoke the visas of some international students, after dozens of lawsuits were filed across the country, including here in Alaska.

Earlier in April, one current UAA student and three recent graduates who are in post-graduation training had their visas revoked.

One of the lawsuits, filed by Nations Law Group and the ACLU of Alaska on behalf of recent UAA graduate Jean Kashikov, claims the Department of Homeland Security violated Kashikov’s right to due process.

“We received an email that showed that the government had started backtracking as to these cancellations,” said Nations Law Group immigration attorney Nicholas Olano. “I think that the by actions of the ACLU nationwide and by immigration attorneys, they realized that this was probably not the best mechanism to accomplish this.”

A spokesperson with the UA system confirmed the four individuals have seen their visas reinstated.

Kashikov’s lawsuit remains open, despite the reversal.

To international students, Olano said, “Hold the course,” explaining that they should continue to attend classes and contact a lawyer with any questions.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to Alaska News Source’s request for comment to talk about why the decision was reversed.

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