Good news for those suffering student loan debt as the Biden administration announced on Nov. 22 that it is extending the moratorium on student loan payments for the eighth time.

Payments will stay paused until no later than June 30, 2023, President Biden said in a tweet stating:  “I’m confident that our student debt relief plan is legal. But it’s on hold because Republican officials want to block it,” Biden wrote.

“It isn’t fair to ask tens of millions of borrowers eligible for relief to resume their student debt payments while the courts consider the lawsuit,” he said in a video included in the tweet.

Roadblocks

Over the past few months, borrowers with student loan debt have had to endure a roller coaster ride with things changing fast.

Since Biden announced his plan to forgive student debt for more than 40 million Americans, the plan has faced a series of legal challenges, according to a report by the Miami Herald.

Most recently, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis issued an injunction blocking the administration’s program. The injunction came just days after a federal judge in Texas struck down the plan in response to a separate lawsuit, according to various news reports.

To date the Department of Education has stopped taking new applications for relief, weeks before the administration’s payment moratorium is set to expire and millions will be responsible for making payments on their loans for the first time since 2020.

Here’s what borrowers should know as the plan is at a standstill currently.

Is Student Loan Relief Canceled?

No, as some borrowers who applied for relief have been notified that they were approved. The Department of Education began alerting borrowers on Saturday, Nov. 19, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona tweeted according to news reports and Twitter.

“We reviewed your application and determined that you are eligible for loan relief under the Plan. We have sent this approval on to your loan servicer,” Cardona wrote in an email to approved borrowers, per the email obtained by McClatchy News, according to a story on Yahoo.com.

“Unfortunately, several lawsuits have been filed challenging the program, which has blocked our ability to discharge your debt at present. We believe strongly that the lawsuits are meritless, and the Department of Justice has appealed on our behalf,” Cardona wrote. “Your application is complete and approved, and we will discharge your approved debt if and when we prevail in court.”

The department said it will hold applications from the more than 26 million borrowers who already applied for forgiveness. Of those who applied, 16 million have already been approved for forgiveness, according to the White House and news reports.

Court Cases Aplenty

Biden’s plan to relieve borrowers is currently experiencing many legal battles.

On Nov. 14, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals issued its injunction blocking the administration’s program from going forward pending further court decisions, saying debt forgiveness would have an “irreversible impact.”

The plan was struck down on Nov. 10 by federal judge Mark Pittman in Texas in response to a separate lawsuit filed by borrowers in October.

In response to recent legal issues, the administration asked the Supreme Court on Nov. 18 to let the program go into effect even though legal challenges in an appeal submitted by Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, CNN reported.

Prelogar said the district court’s analysis “does not suffice to support any injunction — much less a universal injunction prohibiting the government from implementing a critically important policy with direct and tangible effects on millions of Americans.”

“The Eighth Circuit’s erroneous injunction leaves millions of economically vulnerable borrowers in limbo, uncertain about the size of their debt and unable to make financial decisions with an accurate understanding of their future repayment obligations,” Prelogar wrote in the appeal, CNN reported.

Moving Ahead

There isn’t many borrowers can or need to do other than wait it out while the plan goes through the court system.

Originally, borrowers were told to expect relief within about six weeks of applying, meaning that relief could be distributed before the years-long repayment moratorium ends on Dec. 31. Given recent legal challenges, that timeline is now different.

Borrowers who applied for or are interested in applying for debt relief should subscribe for updates from the Federal Student Aid office, according to the department.

If the proposed plan goes thumbs up, borrowers who make less than $125,000 annually would see up to $10,000 of their debt canceled. Pell Grant recipients could get $20,000 in forgiveness.

For households, the income requirement to qualify for forgiveness is less than $250,000 annually. Any borrower whose income was below the cap in either 2020 or 2021 will qualify. Current students will qualify depending on their parent’s income.

Sources: Yahoo. CNN, and other news outlets