WASHINGTON—Foreign students coming from Europe, along with some au pairs and family members of visa holders in the U.S., are exempt from the Trump administration’s various travel bans imposed during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a memo the State Department sent to Congress on Thursday.

The Trump administration has said that the array of travel and visa restrictions enacted since January were intended to slow the spread of the virus and block classes of foreign workers to open jobs for unemployed Americans. The restrictions affected China, Europe and Brazil, and people holding a range of visas, including the prized H-1B for high-skilled workers.

According to the memo, students in European countries who already have visas to study in the U.S., but were blocked by the March travel ban, will be able to come to the U.S. for classes in the fall. Students who can get a visa can also come.

“Granting [this exemption] will assist with the economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and bolster key components of our trans-Atlantic relationship,” a State Department spokesman said in a statement in response to earlier questions about student visas. “We appreciate the transparency and concerted efforts of our European partners and allies to combat this pandemic and welcome the EU’s reciprocal action to allow key categories of essential travel to continue.”

The blanket exemption for these students provides certainty for tens of thousands of students from the U.K. to Italy and Kosovo who returned to their home countries when universities shut in the spring. These students were uncertain whether they could return in time for the fall semester if travel bans weren’t lifted.

The exemption doesn’t extend to students in China and Brazil, who face similar travel restrictions. It also doesn’t affect new students awaiting interviews at U.S. consulates for their visas. Many of these people can’t make appointments until the fall, after their semesters have already begun.