The Trump administration announced on Monday July 6 that it would not allow foreign students to stay in the United States if their university decides to offer courses only online to the new coronavirus pandemic. the start of the school year.
The US government does "Will not give visas to students enrolled in fully online programs in the fall and border guards will not let them enter the territory", the immigration and customs police (ICE) said in a statement.
As for the students already present on the American territory, "They have to leave the country or take other measures – like enrolling in a school offering courses (on its campus) – to maintain their legal status ". Otherwise, they can "Deal with an eviction procedure", specifies the press release.
When establishments choose a model "Hybrid", with online courses and on-site lessons, they will have to certify that their foreign students are well registered for sessions provided on their campus, so that they retain their right of residence. These exceptions will not be allowed for English studies or professional training.
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"Cruelty" for Bernie Sanders
"The cruelty of the White House knows no bounds"immediately criticized Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a former Democratic nomination contestant for the November 3 presidential election. "Foreign students find themselves having to choose between risking their lives in classrooms and being expelled", he continued.
"The worst is uncertainty", Agence France-Presse (AFP) confirmed Gonzalo Fernández, a 32-year-old Spanish boy who is doing a doctorate in economics at George Washington University. "We don't know if we will have lessons next semester, if we have to go home or if they will kick us out …"
The measure concerns F1 (for academic studies) or M1 (for professional training) visas. About 1.2 million people were affected in March, the vast majority of them Asian (Chinese, Indian, South Korean), according to official data.
"Inevitable remedies"
Like the rest of the country, American universities, which have 5.5% foreign students on average and are highly dependent on tuition fees, closed in March and switched to online education in an attempt to to contain the coronavirus epidemic.
In the absence of vaccines, some, including California State University or the prestigious Harvard University, have announced that they will continue their courses entirely online at the start of the school year, even for students allowed to live on campus.
According to Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the think tank American Immigration Council, the new rule is supposed to allow students to continue their studies from their country but this is not realistic, in particular because of the difficulties to travel or the technological delay of certain countries. "Legal recourse is inevitable", he predicted on the social network Twitter.
Screw tower against strangers
President Donald Trump, campaigning for re-election, is pushing for a resumption of the country, although the epidemic is not under control. "Schools must reopen", he notably tweeted in capital letters on Monday.
With more than 130,000 dead, the United States is the most mourning country in the world and has been experiencing an outbreak of infections in the South and West for the past few weeks.
The White House tenant, who has made the fight against immigration a marker of his presidency, has operated several rounds of screws against foreigners since the start of the health crisis. In June, it decided to freeze until 2021 the issuance of green cards – which offer permanent resident status in the United States – and certain work visas, especially those used in the new technology sector, with the 'stated objective of reserving positions for the Americans.
