Immigration Restrictions for Foreign Students - RESCINDED
UPDATE - The Trump administration has agreed to rescind the following policy announcement below, which will mean that international students on F or M visas who are attending U.S. universities that are operating entirely online WILL be permitted to take full online course loads and remain in the United States, as well as be eligible for student visas, and will NOT need to depart the U.S. if they are enrolled in full-time online classes.
The U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) has previously announced that starting in the Fall 2020 semester, international students on F or M visas who are attending U.S. universities that are operating entirely online would not be permitted to take a full online course loads and remain in the United States. Students enrolled in online-only schools would no longer be eligible for student visas, would be denied admission into the United States, and would need to depart the U.S. unless they enrolled in a school with in-person courses.
International students that are, however, attending a university which is offering both online and in-person classes will be allowed to take more than one class or three credits online and remain in nonimmigrant student visa status. Additionally, F-1 students enrolled in English language training programs and M-1 students enrolled in vocational programs will not be permitted to enroll in any online courses.
While ICE had previously allowed foreign students to enroll in online courses during the spring and summer semester due to the coronavirus, the current announcement would have made taking online courses only much more challenging.
International students should be advised that failure to comply with ICE requirements may impact their eligibility to obtain future visas, extend their nonimmigrant stay in the U.S., or travel to the U.S. in the future. Universities will also be required to continue to ensure they are in compliance or risk their Student Exchange Visitor Program certification.
As always, we will continue to monitor the situation. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.