YOUNGSTOWN — A few weeks after they were revoked, the visas for 14 Youngstown State University international students and alumni members have been reinstated.

In correspondence he sent out Monday, YSU President Bill Johnson said the students’ Student and Exchange Visitor Information System records have been fully restored.

The university’s International Programs Office was instrumental in offering support to the affected students as well as helping them “navigate this complex situation while ensuring they had access to necessary resources and information throughout the process,” the correspondence states.

In addition, YSU remains committed to offering needed support to the students that will allow them to thrive as they strive for academic success, Johnson said.

On April 11, he sent an email to international students, saying some of them had their visas revoked. A week later, Johnson sent an email to the YSU community stating that 14 such students were affected by the move.

In the correspondences, Johnson also said the university reached out to various federal officials and agencies to help the students complete their spring semester coursework and requirements.

The SEVIS program is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security database used to gather, track and monitor information regarding exchange visitors, international students and scholars who enter the country with F, J and M visas.

An F visa pertains to studying at an accredited college or university, or to study English at an English language institute; a J exchange visa allows holders to take part in a high school or college study exchange program; and an M student visa is for nonacademic or vocational study or training in the U.S.

On Sunday, members of the Mahoning Valley Freedom Fighters, a grassroots community group committed to creating positive social change and defending democracy and human rights, staged a peaceful, three-hour demonstration in front of the Mahoning County jail largely to protest what they felt was the denial of due process for nearly 100 immigrants being housed in the jail. They also showed up to support the 14 YSU students whose visas had been revoked.

Efforts to restore the visas got underway last week, and by Monday, all 14 of them had been reinstated, Rebecca Rose, YSU spokeswoman, said Wednesday.

YSU alumni also were here on optional practical training time, Rose noted. OPT is available to international students who have F-1 academic student immigration status to allow them to enter the U.S. to enroll in or complete a degree program.

Those with F-1 visas can enter the country as full-time students at accredited colleges, universities, seminaries, academic high schools, conservatories, elementary schools or in language training programs.

Such students who have been in valid F-1 student status for at least nine months can become eligible to apply to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for up to one year of OPT work authorization, according to Dartmouth University’s Office of Visa and Immigration Services.

The OPT time will allow the YSU international students to extend their visas “in order to gain experience in their fields,” Rose said.

For now, the visas have been reinstated and the affected students are fully engaged in their coursework, she added.