IT was 3 am in Atlanta on Friday, the 20-year-old student from Bengaluru recalls, when the good news came. His status as an F-1 student had been in limbo since April 4 when his record on SEVIS — the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, a US government database that tracks international students — was terminated following a drunk driving charge that had not led to a conviction. He was preparing to file a lawsuit when, on April 24, his status on the SEVIS portal showed “active” again. “I couldn’t believe it. I was just about to file (the lawsuit)....