Early last week, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency announced updated guidelines for the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), which will impact foreign-born students studying in the U.S. The updates include the following:
Foreign students on F-1 visas who take full online course loads will not be permitted to maintain residency in the U.S.
Students may take a hybrid course load with both in-person and online offerings. The student’s school must certify that he/she is not taking an entirely online course load.
Students whose course loads change throughout the semester will still be subject to the rule. If a student changes her course selections or is required to switch to online-only at any point in the semester, she must notify the agency within ten days.
Students whose schools are online-only should consider transferring to a school offering in-person instruction to lawfully remain in the country.
Students who remain in the U.S. while taking an online-only course load may face “immigration consequences.”
The guidance, which was updated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for the spring and summer 2020 semesters, to allow for online study, is a reversion back to the previous ruling that SEVP does not allow for a student to take an online course load and maintain U.S. residency. However, given the uncontrolled nature of the pandemic throughout much of the country, schools and students have expressed shock at the update, particularly as many universities are still seeking the safest means to proceed with classes in the fall and must now contend with decreased flexibility. The universities that have publicly responded to the guidelines have been clear in their intentions to support their international students.
NYU announced that its fall plans would include a hybrid model with an emphasis on accommodating international students. Stanford, which had planned to provide most courses online, also pledged to support its students in finishing their degrees. Columbia University communicated its intentions to “alleviate the negative effect of these new regulations,” as well a plan to provide pop-up centers for students unable to return to campus.
Princeton, MIT, Duke, California Institute of Technology, and Dartmouth told Forbes that they are reviewing the policy’s implications and noted the importance of international students to their communities.
MIT and Harvard have filed a lawsuit against the administration stating that the option to offer remote courses during the pandemic is “of paramount importance to universities across the country.” Northeastern University has also joined the suit and Cornell is supporting it via amicus brief.
The California State Attorney General has also announced a lawsuit against the new policy.
The updated guidelines are thought to be part of the Trump Administration’s push for schools to re-open for in-person instruction in the fall, as well as part of continued efforts to restrict immigration. Last month, the President suspended the H-1B visa program for the remainder of 2020 via executive order. While the order kept the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program in operation, which allows international students to work in the country for one to three years, the H-1B visa is often seen as the goal for OPT participants. As such, the executive order disappointed business schools as it may serve to discourage international students from studying in the U.S. by making it harder to find long-term employment post-graduation. Last October, the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) supported by a group of 50 business school deans, published and signed a white paper calling for an increase in H-1B visas to encourage the flow of international talent into the country.
There is a sense among U.S. business schools that the administration’s restrictions on immigration and work visas will only further harm their ability to compete internationally. According to GMAC, almost half (48 percent) of MBA programs saw a decline in applications from international students for their 2019 entering classes.