Foreign students weigh studying in person vs. losing their visas
International students worried about a new immigration policy that could potentially cost them their visas say they feel stuck between being unnecessarily exposed during the coronavirus pandemic and being able to finish their studies in America.
Students from countries as diverse as India, China and Brazil told The Associated Press they are scrambling to devise plans after federal immigration authorities notified colleges this week that international students must leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools operate entirely online this fall.
Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed a lawsuit this week to block the decision, and now California and Washington state are seeking injunctions against enforcing the new visa policy.
“Shame on the Trump Administration for risking not only the education opportunities for students who earned the chance to go to college, but now their health and wellbeing as well,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Thursday.
Some said they may return home, or move to Canada.
“I’m generating research. I’m doing work in a great economy,” said Batuhan Mekiker, a Ph.D. student from Turkey studying computer science at Montana State University in Bozeman. He’s in the third year of a fiveyear program.
“If I go to Turkey, I would not have that,” he said. “I would like to be somewhere where my talent is appreciated.”
Mathias, a Seattle-based student who spoke on condition his last name not be used for fear of losing his immigration status, said he is set to sell his car, break his lease and get his cat, Louis, permission to fly back to his home in Paris in the next two weeks. “Everyone’s very worried,” he said. “We have our whole lives here.”
Many American universities have come to depend on the revenue from more than 1 million international students, who typically pay higher tuition. President Donald Trump has insisted they return to in-person instruction as soon as possible, alleging that schools are being kept closed to harm the economy and make him look bad.
The guidance was released the same day Harvard announced it would keep all undergraduate classes online this fall.
The University of Southern California sent a letter to students and faculty members, saying it is “deeply troubled” and that the “the policy could negatively impact countless international students.”
As other universities have, USC said it was pushing back and working to ensure students’ academic careers aren’t harmed, while exploring ways for students to study in person safely if they wish.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the directive could inflict “significant harm” on colleges, students, the business community and the economy.
A day after Harvard sued, the university notified the court that immigration authorities appear to be enforcing the policy already. A lawyer for Harvard urged the judge to suspend the rule, saying that a first-year student from Belarus was turned away from his flight at a Minsk airport.
“This is very dangerous and cruel,” said Jessie Peng, a Chinese graduate student in analytics at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.
“We have nowhere to go,” said Peng, 27. “Either risk our lives and go to school or we risk our lives flying back to China.”
Natalia Afonso, a Brooklyn College student, also from Brazil, said she hopes the school will adopt a hybrid model of remote and in-person classes — but she fears riding the subway to campus could increase her chances of catching the virus.
“I don’t see myself moving back to Brazil at this point,” said the 27-year-old, who is studying education and just finished her first semester. “It’s very unfair.”