US says foreign students whose classes move online must leave
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 university must certify, however, “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”.
Non-immigrant 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. An estimated 1 million international students enrol in US colleges every year. Their impact on US economy is worth $41 billion and they support more than 450,000 jobs. US colleges and universities have begun to announce plans for the fall 2020 semester amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Shortly before the ICE guideline was released, Harvard announced it would conduct course instruction online for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Harvard University president Lawrence S Bacow said in a statement: “This guidance undermines the thoughtful approach taken on behalf of students by so many institutions, including Harvard, to plan for continuing academic programs while balancing the health and safety challenges of the global pandemic.” The move also invited political criticism in the US. “The cruelty of this White House knows no bounds,” tweeted Senator Bernie Sanders. “Foreign students are being threatened with a choice: risk your life going to class-in person or get deported,” he said.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted:“It’s senseless, cruel, and xenophobic.”
The American Council on Education (ACE), which represents US colleges and universities, called the move “horrifying”. “At a time when institutions are doing everything they can to help reopen our country, we need flexibility, not a big step in the wrong direction,” the organisation said in a statement. “ICE should allow any international student with a valid visa to continue their education regardless of whether a student is receiving his or her education online, in person, or through a combination of both, whether in the United States or in their home country, during this unprecedented global health crisis.”