The Biden administration said Wednesday that it will ease some Public Service Loan Forgiveness requirements which would allow more than 550,000 government and nonprofit borrowers to get closer to being free of student debt.

The temporary change announced by the Education Department will be active until October 2022 and allow borrowers who have worked 10 years in the public service industry to be eligible for the loan forgiveness program regardless of their type of federal loan or repayment plan. Past loan payments will also count toward the program.

The announcement said this change will immediately impact 22,000 borrowers who were previously ineligible, amounting to more than $1.7 billion in loans forgiven.

The past requirements only approved applicants with specific loans and payment plans which led to the rejections of more than 90% of applicants, the Associated Press noted.

“Borrowers who devote a decade of their lives to public service should be able to rely on the promise of Public Service Loan Forgiveness,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said. “The system has not delivered on that promise to date, but that is about to change for many borrowers.”

The Department of Education will also review applications that were previously denied and introduce an appeals process to allow borrowers to have their applications reconsidered, it said in the announcement.

This change means that thousands of teachers, social workers, military members and other public servants will be closer to being debt-free.

“These improvements will benefit approximately 550K borrowers without further action on their part. They are important steps toward a better & stronger PSLF Program. You’ll see these changes roll out over the coming months,” the Education Department posted on Twitter.

The student debt crisis affects over 43 million Americans, according to Educationdata.org, with Americans owing over $1.7 trillion in combined federal and private student loan debt.

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