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ICE to Deny International Students F1 Visas for Online-only Learning

International students who are pursuing degrees in the United States will have to leave the country or risk deportation if their universities switch to online-only courses, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) announced Monday. The move may affect thousands of LL.M students who come to the United States to attend universities and law schools.

ICE International Students Online

English Class – Credit Pixabay License

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued new rules that could see students in the middle of their academic careers forced to leave the country ahead of the academic year that will surely look different than any previous year due to the coronavirus. “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,” an ICE statement reads. “If not, they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings.

A number of universities, notably Harvard, have already made the decision to switch to online teaching for the coming fall term in order to allow for social distancing and protect the general welfare of the students and administration. Other universities are expected to follow the same path as coronavirus cases are spiking in the United States. 

An irrational decision that would impact thousands of students

Brad Farnsworth, vice president of the American Council on Education, said the announcement caught him and many others by surprise.
“We think this is going to create more confusion and more uncertainty,” said Farnsworth, whose organization represents about 1,800 colleges and universities. “What we were hoping to see was more appreciation for all the different possible nuances that campuses will be exploring.”
The decision raise also many concerns: if the health situation deteriorates in the fall, this could force universities that have switched to online-courses to stay safe to back-up on their decisions. 
Harvard University President Larry Bacow said in a statement Monday evening that “we are deeply concerned that the guidance issued today by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement imposes a blunt, one-size-fits-all approach to a complex problem giving international students, particularly those in online programs, few options beyond leaving the country or transferring schools.”

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An impact on the economy

In a typical year, the more than 1 million foreign students studying in the U.S. are required to attend a certain number of classes in person as a condition of their student visa. The requirement was suspended temporarily this spring as the coronavirus hit, sending the country scrambling into lockdown. The exclusion of foreign students could have a serious impact on American colleges’ already shaky bottom line, as an industry economic analysis found those students’ presence on American campuses amounted to $41 billion, supporting 458,290 jobs during the 2018–19 academic year alone.
So far, about 8% of colleges — including Harvard and the country’s biggest public university system, California State University — have adopted online-only models.

This announcement creates anxiety on the part of international students; and on the part of universities trying to find a right balance. In this end this would just push many students in reconsidering their plans.

Quentin Alexandre, former International Student Tweet

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