Photo by Element5_Digital For the thousands of foreign students attending universities across the US with an F1 visa, it looks like deportation, thankfully, is not in the cards.
Photo by Element5_Digital For the thousands of foreign students attending universities across the US with an F1 visa, it looks like deportation, thankfully, is not in the cards. On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced that they have rescinded a policy, ordering international students to either transfer, leave voluntarily, or face deportation if their schools held classes entirely online due to Covid-19. The policy, enforced July 6th by immigration officials and Customs Enforcement, demanded F1 holders to either to take in-person classes come the imminent fall semester or run the risk of being deported. In response to the rule, the Trump administration have been met with eight federal lawsuits and widespread backlash from hundreds of universities. The decision to rescind the policy was announced in a hearing held in Boston, issued by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology – two schools in complete opposition of the rule. US District Judge Allison Burroughs said of the hearing that federal immigration authorities agreed to pull the July 6th directive and “return to status quo.” Universities across the nation have spoken out against the policy, stating that not only is it a detriment to the health of their students, but also the financial well-being of the schools. “Many schools rely on tuition from international students, and some stood to lose millions of dollars in revenue if the rule had taken hold,” ABC News writes. In Wisconsin, UW-Madison said it’s 5,800 International students bring in more than $180 million in revenue and host a multitude of international teaching aids. Though F1 visas have miraculously won immunity, could this mean other visas might stand the same chance? Stay tuned. Sources: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2020/07/14/facing-backlash-trump-reverses-rule-threatening-international-students/5438395002/ https://www.koco.com/article/trump-administration-rescinds-rule-on-international-college-students/33314277
