Foreign students whose classes move online must leave, says Trump admn

WASHINGTON: Foreign students in the US, hundreds of thousands of them Indians, will be forced to fly out of the country if all their classes are taught online because of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) restrictions, a government body in the country has said, triggering alarm among students over an uncertain future and criticism from politicians on the “cruelty” of the move.

India sent the largest number of students (251,290) to the US after China (478,732) in the 20172018 academic year, according to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) ‘SEVIS by the Numbers Report’. The number of students from India increased in the next academic year by 4,157. It wasn’t immediately clear how many student visa holders will be affected by the move.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency said on Monday it will not allow holders of student visas to remain in the country if their school is fully online for the fall. Those students must transfer to another school with in-person instruction.

“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,” ICE said. “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,” it added. “If not, they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings.”

The move triggered panic and anger among Indian students in US colleges. Onkar Joshi, a doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland, said: “It forces us to choose between our health and staying in the US.” MT, 28, a Mumbaiite enrolled at the Parsons School of Design, New York, said, “I would rather take this risk and attend classes than leave the country,” she said. “I’m just hoping the institute offers offline classes and makes that possible.”

India raised the issue with the US at foreign office consultations on Tuesday between foreign secretary Harsh Shringla and US undersecretary of state for political affairs David Hale. Among a whole range of issues, they also “discussed ways to further enhance mutually beneficial trade and people-to-people ties, including through visa facilitation for students and professionals”, the ministry of external affairs said in a readout of the meeting.

The ICE guidance applies to holders of F-1 and M-1 visas, which are for academic and vocational students. The State Department issued 388,839 F visas and 9,518 M visas in fiscal 2019, according to the agency’s data.

The US state department will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools that are fully online for the fall semester nor will the US Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the US, ICE said.

“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.”

THE US IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT WARNED THAT STUDENTS WHO DON’T COMPLY WITH THE NEW RULES COULD BE REMOVED FROM

THE COUNTRY

PATIALA/LUDHIANA: As the US government has declared that it won’t allow the stay or entry of foreign students who fail to find schools teaching in-person, Punjab students are in a state of panic. Majority of them have deferred their plans of studying in the US this year.

In its recent statement, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) warned that students who don’t comply with the new rules could be removed from the country.

Students said though in-person teaching has better impact than online classes, finding colleges offering such modules in the time of Covid-19 pandemic would be nearly impossible.

Reacting to the decision, a student from Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology said the US authorities had earlier targeted work visas and now their moves were posing threats to students’ immigration. “It is unfair to threaten students to leave the country and declining visas over such hard conditions,” said Guarang Sharma, fourth year electrical engineering student. He has been preparing for his GRE exam to pursue higher studies in the US.

Students pay exorbitant fee for international exposure in these colleges, thus only online classes won’t help them, he argued.

Another student Amitesh, who is in the final year of BTech in computer sciences, said posing restrictions on student immigration is uncalled for.

“Covid-19 outbreak has already dampened the aspirations of students hoping to get admissions in foreign colleges this year. There should not be any more restrictions on visas on based on the mode of classes being conducted in colleges,” he said.

Disappointed to defer his education plans, Shaurya Gulati, a BTech final year student of Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College (GNDEC), Ludhiana, said, “To pursue my master’s degree in mechanical engineering, I had applied at the University of Michigan, USA in January this year and was so excited to be there for classes by September. But now the US government has decided they will not issue visas to students whose colleges are offering fully online courses.”

Stating that decision would impact the dreams of thousands of students who were presently studying in America, Manpreet Singh said any international student in the US or entering the country for Fall-2020 must be enrolled in nine credits to get a legal stay here. “Most of the universities here are currently offering online classes and only fewer have in-person courses. As there are two more months before the session begins, students must enroll into the courses being offered in the offline mode,” said Singh, who is a PhD research scholar in mechanical engineering department of University of Maryland Baltimore County,

USA. Another final year student of GNDEC Sidak Singh said, “I was planning to study in the US this year, but I have to drop the idea now. I feel dejected, but I have decided to come up with new innovations in machinery in India itself.”

Meanwhile, immigration experts from the region believe that the US move will have less impact in Punjab.A Chandigarhbased immigration consultant said, “The extent of the decision’s impact will not be more in Punjab region as students here prefer Canada and Australia for studies and work rather than the US.”

“Though a handful of students seek higher education in renowned US universities, they will now explore options in other countries,” opined Anuj Kalra, an immigration expert.