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In March 2020, over a thousand United States colleges and universities made the decision to close their campuses and shift to online learning for the remainder of the spring semester in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While administrators and public health officials agreed that school closures would be instrumental in slowing the spread of the novel respiratory virus, the effects of online learning were felt throughout higher education (1). Students expressed concerns with regards to grades, credits, postponed exams, lost income from on-campus work, and access to technology off-campus (2). Particularly vulnerable were international students who faced the compounded challenges of travel bans and campus closures (2). Students and administrators alike were worried early on that continuation of online classes would not satisfy visa requirements for full-times students (2). Fast-forward to July 6, 2020, when the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced new regulations stating that (3): “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… 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. If not, they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings.” The policy prevents international students from retaining their F-1 visas if their course of study is entirely online. This announcement followed statements from major institutions publicizing their decisions to provide solely online instruction for the fall. The regulations raise concerns within the international student community with regards to safety, well-being, financial stability, and educational pursuits. If enforced, students will be in a position which would require them to risk their health to travel to their home country and pay extra penalties for breaking leases in the United States. Some international students will be returning to countries with entry restrictions that are in conflict zones, in areas with limited technology access, or in different time zones. Due to the uncertainty of future directives and the remaining high cost of tuition for international students, some have already made the hard decision of postponing their education. Over a million international students contribute to the entire United States student population (4). They enrich our educational spaces by offering perspectives from all across the globe. Since the announcement, several schools, including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of California, have joined together to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration to protect international student visas. Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia plans to join an amicus brief supporting the lawsuit as they plan to reopen with a mixture of online and in-person course offerings to their student body (5). The effect of COVID-19 continues to resonate through higher education as many campuses prepare to reopen for the fall semester. As the number of coronavirus cases continues to peak in the United States, the capacity for in-person classes in universities is threatened. These issues will unequally affect domestic and international students, however, university administrators across the nation have demonstrated their interest in supporting the international student community. For more information, please visit: https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1237MqzCVFgSjB15PKk8hCfF4ZWhrwbcWe0P4rgQkONE/mobilebasic?usp=gmail
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AuthorsChristina (Ha Eun) Cho, M2 |
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