The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has recently said that the United States is not going to allow the admission of new international students for the forthcoming fall semester if their courses are completely online-based.
On Friday, the ICE in a release announced that the “F and M students” in new or early status after March 9, 2020, are not going to be able to enter the United States as a nonimmigrant student for enrolling or getting admission into a US school. This term is implemented for those students whose entire courses are based online and they will not be able to apply for the fall term for pursuing a “full course of study that is 100 percent online”.
In addition to that, the school officials are asked to not issue a Form I-20, “Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status,” for any of the student in new or initial status who is situated outside of the United States and is planning for taking classes completely online at a certified educational institution.
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) on March 9, 2020, issued guidance for managing foreign students and exchange visitors in the United States. It has also permitted schools as well as students for engaging in distance learning in excess of regulatory restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic.
On Friday, the ICE also stated that the guidance also applies to the nonimmigrant students continuing F and M who was in legal F-1 or M-1 nonimmigrant status on 9th March 2020. In addition, it is also going to include those students who are earlier enrolled in completely online classes who are outside of the United States and are looking for to entering again the country this fall.
This announcement was made soon after the ICE withdrew a new directive two weeks before that could have denied international students for their stay in the United States if they only are present at online courses in the upcoming fall semester of this year.
The White House has been pushing for the reopening of schools in spite of the pandemic and the increasing cases in the country. They had faced a strong backlash from home as well as from abroad and the lawsuits that have been supported by over 200 universities and 18 states.
Many universities in the United States have announced several plans to hold most or all the classes online this fall by seeing the increasing number of deadly virus cases in the country. In order to protect the health and safety of their students and faculty, many universities are holding classes online.
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