A division of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), known as the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (“SEVP”) issued recent guidance that affirms new international students cannot partake in 100% online courses for the Fall Semester. This means that newly admitted international students, for the Fall Semester, will not be granted visas to come to the US to start their academic programs, if their courses are fully online.
Previously, SEVP drew wide criticism when it went back on its guidance originally issued earlier this year in March, stating that enforcement of regulations restricting international students from taking more than one online class at a time would be suspended due to the CoVid-19 pandemic. On July 6, 2020, SEVP announced that current international students must leave the United States or face deportation if their institution would not be offering hybrid classes. Over 20 universities filed lawsuits to block this directive, and the government eventually agreed to rescind the guidance. However, this left much confusion for international students that were preparing to enter the US for the Fall Semester.
Presented as a FAQ, the SEVP guidance includes an inquiry about whether students can apply for a visa at the appropriate consulate, to enter the US for a hybrid program that includes more than one online course. The answer provided by SEVP, explains that visa decisions will be at the discretion of the Department of State rather than SEVP and goes on to state that “Nonimmigrant students in New or Initial Status after March 9 will not be able to enter the United States to enroll in a U.S. school as a nonimmigrant student for the fall term to pursue a full course of study that is 100 percent online.”
This seems to affirm that new students can enter the U.S. to pursue programs that are hybrid. State Department officials have suggested that the agency would honor SEVP guidance concerning remote learning in adjudicating student visas. Although this new guidance does not allow the same flexibility afforded to current international students, it is still a positive step allowing for new international students to engage in in-person or hybrid programs.