Tens of millions of borrowers could soon get relief on their student loans after a federal judge ruled Wednesday that the preliminary injunction on the White House’s latest debt relief plan can expire.

The Biden administration’s comprehensive “Plan B” debt relief plan was first announced in April. The plan was put on hold indefinitely when it was blocked by a judge in August. Lifting the freeze could mean 25 million Americans will eventually have their student loan debt forgiven.

However, student loan forgiveness efforts have had a rocky road over the past year, and experts say it’s possible another lawsuit could be filed and this initiative halted again.

Why was the plan initially blocked?

A Republican-led initiative in seven states led to a lawsuit that led a federal court in Georgia to issue a preliminary injunction against the Biden administration’s relief plan before it was even finalized.

Courts typically do not block proposals until they are final. In this case, evidence was presented that the Department of Education intended to forgive borrowers’ loans once the plan’s rules were finalized, rather than waiting the required 60 days. The courts stopped the plan as a precautionary measure.

What has changed?

U.S. District Judge Randal Hall ruled Wednesday that Georgia was the inappropriate venue for the lawsuit because the state had not presented evidence that the relief plan would cause sufficient harm to the state. Instead, he decided that Missouri was a better state for the case and would move it.

This means that the interim injunction that he had imposed on the aid plan is no longer in force.

Who would be forgiven under this debt relief plan?

The Biden administration’s debt relief program would forgive some or all of a borrower’s debt:

• When the debt exceeds the original amount borrowed after deducting interest
• If the loan is older than 20 or 25 years
• If the borrower’s vocational school resulted in high debt or low income.
• Borrowers who are eligible for forgiveness programs but have not applied

If your loan accrued interest of $20,000, you are a single borrower making less than $120,000, or if you are married with a total income of less than $240,000 and are on an income dependent If you participate in a repayment plan, you may also be eligible for forgiveness.

How likely are “Plan B” borrowers to receive forgiveness?

With the injunction now expiring, this means the plan can be implemented for millions of borrowers unless the Missouri court or another US court imposes another freeze.

Mark Kantrowitz, a financial aid expert, says borrowers shouldn’t get their hopes up just yet. “There could be a race between Republicans and the federal government to see who can act first. Given that federal agencies are not responding very quickly, it is unlikely that any forgiveness will be available to borrowers.”

For now, his advice to borrowers is to wait for the courts to make final decisions on this and other forgiveness plans like SAVE.

The Education Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.