If you are a nonimmigrant student (F-1 or M-1) and your university is only offering courses online this fall due to the ongoing (and worsening) pandemic, then you are out of luck. You must leave the country or face deportation (the government prefers to call it “removal”).
Updated guidelines released by ICE yesterday rescind the temporary exemptions that allowed nonimmigrant students to take more than three credits of online courses, and give universities just nine days to let the government know if they plan to offer all online, all in-person, or hybrid classes this fall.
On Monday, the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program announced, “The U.S. Department of State will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will U.S. Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter 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,” the announcement said. “If not, they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings. ” (Washington Post)
Before the pandemic, nonimmigrant students were limited to three hours of online courses, but that rule was waived for spring and fall. This new announcement reinstates the limit, but does so at a time when many universities across the country are moving towards an all-online fall semester and have been for months in an effort to protect students, faculty, and staff. DHS gave no reason for the decision, or why they waited so long to make the announcement.