More than 1,200 students nationwide suddenly lost their legal status or had visas revoked, leaving them at risk for deportation.

It’s like somebody flipped a light switch on,” said one attorney whose client had their status suddenly reversed.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is restoring more than 1,500 foreign students’ visa registrations after multiple recent lawsuits. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Sauter said in a Friday court filing that ICE told him was going to restore student records to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS),