New Delhi: In what may come as a major setback for majorly Indian students, the United States on Monday said that it would not allow foreign students to stay in the country if all of their classes move online in the fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 200,000 Indian students are currently pursuing various courses in the US. Indian students form the 2nd highest number of foreign students in the US after Chinese students.
“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. 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,” US Immigration and Custom Enforcement said in a statement.
However, 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, it added.
It may be noted that F-1 nonimmigrant students pursue academic coursework and M-1 nonimmigrant students pursue vocational coursework while studying in the United States.
The US ICE further added that Non immigrant students within the US are not permitted to take a full course of study through online classes.
The department advised schools to update their information in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) within 10 days of the change if they begin the fall semester with in-person classes but are later required to switch to only online classes, or a nonimmigrant student changes their course selections, and as a result, ends up taking an entirely online course load.
“If students find themselves in this situation, they must leave the country or take alternative steps to maintain their nonimmigrant status such as a reduced course load or appropriate medical leave,” the official release said.
