US student visa restrictions

THE United States said on Monday (6) it would not allow foreign students to remain in the country if all of their classes are moved online in the fall because of the coronavirus crisis.

“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,” US Immigration and Custom Enforcement stated.

“Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programmes must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status,” ICE said.

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

ICE said the State Department “will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/ or programmes that are fully online for the fall semester nor will US Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the United States.”

F-1 students pursue academic coursework and M-1 students pursue “vocational coursework,” according to ICE.

There were more than one million international students in the United States for the 2018-19 academic year, according to the Institute of International Education (IIE).

The largest number of international students came from China, followed by India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Canada.

Critics hit back at the decision. “The cruelty of this White House knows no bounds,” tweeted Senator Bernie Sanders.