Visas
Trump yields to students after lawsuits
As reported by Deutsche Welle<\/a>, the administration of Donald Trump decided to abandon plans to revoke student visas for foreign nationals in the country if their studies were moved entirely online due to the pandemic. This was announced on Tuesday, July 14, by federal judge Allison Burroughs in Boston at the start of a hearing that was to hear complaints from Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a number of states against the U.S. administration.<\/p>
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE, part of the Department of Homeland Security) announced last week that foreign students with F1 and M1 visa types would not be allowed to stay in the country if they were to study exclusively online starting in the fall. They were required to leave the United States or change their educational institution to attend in person. Otherwise, authorities had the right to initiate deportation proceedings against the students.<\/p>
The decision led to a series of lawsuits, including from Johns Hopkins University, MIT, and Harvard. According to the Associated Press, the latter two universities had no plans to hold in-person classes in the winter semester.<\/p>
As for Johns Hopkins University, which has about 5,000 foreign students, it planned to offer both in-person courses and online lectures in the fall, and after the Thanksgiving break on November 26, to switch entirely to online learning, according to AP.<\/p>
Earlier, the State Department said that the U.S. welcomes foreigners, but 'the current situation provides students with more flexible opportunities to continue their studies in the U.S. while allowing for social distancing.'<\/p>
Yekaterina VENKINA.<\/strong><\/p>
