Trump administration drops restrictions on online-only instruction for foreign students
Arirang News
2020-07-15
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The United States has scrapped its latest visa regulation that requires international students to leave the country if they can only take online classes.
The move comes after local universities filed a lawsuit against what they said was an "unlawful" policy.
Kim Dami has the details.
Just a week after warning it would bar international students taking online classes only, Washington has called off the policy.
A U.S. District Judge in Massachusetts said on Tuesday that the government and the plaintiffs reached a resolution in their lawsuit and will "return to the status quo."
The decision brings a sense of relief to more than a million international students in the U.S. after days of worrying they could be deported.
That includes roughly 50-thousand South Korean students.
"I was really worried and frustrated about my visa situation because nothing was set and I didn't know what to do for housing or fall semester in general. But I'm so glad, I'm sure the entire international student population would be glad that the order has been rescinded."
According to ABC News Tuesday, the U.S. State Department will soon resume all visa-related procedures.
But when they'll restart and what kind of visas they will receive remains unclear.
The change of heart came after Harvard University and MIT last week sued both the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Trump administration warned just last Monday that students at schools offering only online courses due to the COVID-19 pandemic would need to either leave the U.S. or transfer schools.
Calling the rule unlawful, the country's top universities argued immigration officials violated procedural rules by issuing the guidance with no justification or allowing public response.
They further added that the rule reflects government efforts to force universities to reopen despite COVID-19 dangers.
At least 17 states and dozens of local colleges joined forces to file the suit.
However, immigration officials say they notified colleges that any guidance prompted by the COVID-19 crisis is subject to change.
Kim Dami, Arirang News.
The United States has scrapped its latest visa regulation that requires international students to leave the country if they can only take online classes.
The move comes after local universities filed a lawsuit against what they said was an "unlawful" policy.
Kim Dami has the details.
Just a week after warning it would bar international students taking online classes only, Washington has called off the policy.
A U.S. District Judge in Massachusetts said on Tuesday that the government and the plaintiffs reached a resolution in their lawsuit and will "return to the status quo."
The decision brings a sense of relief to more than a million international students in the U.S. after days of worrying they could be deported.
That includes roughly 50-thousand South Korean students.
"I was really worried and frustrated about my visa situation because nothing was set and I didn't know what to do for housing or fall semester in general. But I'm so glad, I'm sure the entire international student population would be glad that the order has been rescinded."
According to ABC News Tuesday, the U.S. State Department will soon resume all visa-related procedures.
But when they'll restart and what kind of visas they will receive remains unclear.
The change of heart came after Harvard University and MIT last week sued both the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Trump administration warned just last Monday that students at schools offering only online courses due to the COVID-19 pandemic would need to either leave the U.S. or transfer schools.
Calling the rule unlawful, the country's top universities argued immigration officials violated procedural rules by issuing the guidance with no justification or allowing public response.
They further added that the rule reflects government efforts to force universities to reopen despite COVID-19 dangers.
At least 17 states and dozens of local colleges joined forces to file the suit.
However, immigration officials say they notified colleges that any guidance prompted by the COVID-19 crisis is subject to change.
Kim Dami, Arirang News.
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