ICE says if University is online only in Fall due to COVID... Your student visa may no longer be valid 😧 UPDATE: THEY CAVED

[Chris W]

This seems NUTS and hopefully a misinterpretation of the rule:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1280207487573069827

This is NOT good. I hope everyone who's international in the US now is not affected by this. It seems like if the school is doing only online classes for your next year the student visa is no longer valid unless I'm misreading this. It sounded like the Screenwriting programs will be online only... Does this mean they're affected?

SEVP modifies temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students taking online courses during fall 2020 semester

Due to COVID-19, SEVP instituted a temporary exemption regarding online courses for the spring and summer semesters. This policy permitted nonimmigrant students to take more online courses than normally permitted by federal regulation to maintain their nonimmigrant status during the COVID-19...

www.ice.gov

"WASHINGTON – The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) announced modifications Monday to temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students taking online classes due to the pandemic for the fall 2020 semester. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to publish the procedures and responsibilities in the Federal Register as a Temporary Final Rule.

Temporary exemptions for the fall 2020 semester include:

1. Nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 students attending schools operating entirely online may not take a full online course load and remain in the United States. The U.S. Department of State will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will U.S. Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the United States. Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status. If not, they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings.
2. Nonimmigrant F-1 students attending schools operating under normal in-person classes are bound by existing federal regulations. Eligible F students may take a maximum of one class or three credit hours online.
3. Nonimmigrant F-1 students attending schools adopting a hybrid model—that is, a mixture of online and in person classes—will be allowed to take more than one class or three credit hours online. These schools must certify to SEVP, through the Form I-20, “Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status,” certifying that the program is not entirely online, that the student is not taking an entirely online course load this semester, and that the student is taking the minimum number of online classes required to make normal progress in their degree program. The above exemptions do not apply to F-1 students in English language training programs or M-1 students pursing vocational degrees, who are not permitted to enroll in any online courses.

Schools should update their information in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) within 10 days of the change if they begin the fall semester with in-person classes but are later required to switch to only online classes, or a nonimmigrant student changes their course selections, and as a result, ends up taking an entirely online course load. Nonimmigrant students within the United States are not permitted to take a full course of study through online classes. If students find themselves in this situation, they must leave the country or take alternative steps to maintain their nonimmigrant status such as a reduced course load or appropriate medical leave.

Due to COVID-19, SEVP instituted a temporary exemption regarding online courses for the spring and summer semesters. This policy permitted nonimmigrant students to take more online courses than normally permitted by federal regulation to maintain their nonimmigrant status during the COVID-19 emergency.

F-1 nonimmigrant students pursue academic coursework and M-1 nonimmigrant students pursue vocational coursework while studying in the United States."

 

[Chris W]

Harvard and MIT are suing over this! Hopefully they prevail.

"Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sued the Trump administration in federal court on Wednesday, seeking to block a directive that would strip foreign college students of their visas if their coursework was entirely online."

International Students in Online Courses Face Lost F1 Visas, ICE Says Trump Visa Rules Seen as Way to Pressure Colleges on Reopening

 

[Chris W]

It's all because Trump wants to open schools on the Fall. SMH. Cases in LA county were over 4,000 yesterday. Not the state... LA county! Granted it's huge but that's the same as the whole state of Florida a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Isabehl]

Yeah, this is horrible. We have a lot of international students in my grad program at LMU and since the news broke we've been trying to push the school to fight it and assure students they will be doing everything they can to support them. So far the school has joined the amicus brief supporting Harvard and MIT's lawsuit and the international grad students in our program will be having a town hall with the school on Monday. Hoping for some good news this coming week.

 

[Chris W]

I heard one school (I think Berkeley) is creating a one credit "in person" class to get around it. Could have been a Twitter rumor though.

 

[Isabehl]

I heard one school (I think Berkeley) is creating a one credit "in person" class to get around it. Could have been a Twitter rumor though.

I heard that, too.. I believe USC announced they were going to offer a one credit class free of charge to international students for that purpose? I don't remember where I saw that, but I think it might have been directly from them. We're trying to push for that at LMU, too. If it isn't already in the works, I now the students will be bringing it up in the town hall.

 

[Chris W]

If it isn't already in the works, I now the students will be bringing it up in the town hall.

Good luck!

 

[Chris W]

Yay! They reversed the policy!

"The Trump administration has walked back a policy that would have stripped international college students of their U.S. visas if their coursework was entirely online, ending a proposed plan that had thrown the higher education world into turmoil."

Coronavirus Live: Updates From Around the Globe Coronavirus Live Updates: Trump Administration Walks Back Rule That Would Have Stripped Some Foreign Student Visas

 

[Chris W]

Update... Now they won't let anyone in.

ICE bans new international students enrolled in online-only classes from entering U.S.

Out of more than 1,250 colleges in the U.S., 12% are switching to an online-only model this fall, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

www.cbsnews.com

But that might be moot. Not sure people are excited about coming here with a pandemic raging.