International students attending U.S. colleges and universities that will operate entirely online this fall semester cannot remain in the country to do so, according to new guidance issued by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) on July 6. The new guidance is a prelude to a forthcoming temporary regulation.
Under current regulations, F-1 international students are only permitted to take one online course (3 credits) per semester toward their “full course of study” requirements for maintaining status. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic this spring, SEVP issued temporary procedural adaptations related to online courses for spring and summer sessions, which gave institutions of higher education flexibility to teach entirely online for student and faculty safety while international students maintained their active status.
Now, however, SEVP has modified that temporary guidance effective with the fall 2020 semester in a July 6, 2020 Broadcast Message. Notably, not all schools received yesterday’s broadcast message; it is expected to be followed by a Temporary Final Rule—a temporary change to federal regulations.
If a school will offer courses entirely online for fall 2020, international students will not be able to maintain their status at such schools. If abroad, they will not be issued a visa by the Department of State or permitted to enter by Customs & Border Protection. If here, they will need to transfer to a school offering in-person classes, depart the U.S., or try to change to another status. SEVP says the same is true if the school must switch to online-only instruction mid-semester: students who are here must transfer, depart, or try to change status.
If a school will offer a hybrid model – a mix of in-person and online classes – international students will be allowed to take more than the usual limit of one online course, but cannot have a fully-online semester. Designated School Officials (DSOs) will be required to certify to SEVP that
the program is not entirely online,
the student is not taking an entirely online course load for the fall 2020 semester, and
the student is taking the minimum number of online classes required to make normal progress in their degree program.
Schools are expected to notify SEVP of changes to a hybrid model of instruction by August 1, and issue new Forms I-20 to students with the above certification by August 4. Both such dates will be challenging given that course registration periods may extend beyond this point, and given the millions of international students currently in the US.
For schools that return to entirely in-person instruction, the usual rule permitting only one online class will apply.
The above exemptions do not apply to F-1 students in English language training programs or M-1 vocational students, who are not permitted to enroll in any online courses.
For graduate students whose “coursework” consists of research and serving as an instructor, rather than attending classes themselves, it appears that this policy change will not impact them, but questions remain for the eventual temporary regulation.
Continuing F and M students who are outside the U.S., and whose schools are offering entirely-online courses for fall 2020, may remain in Active status in SEVIS if they are taking online courses and are able to meet the normal full course of study requirements. Only students enrolled at a school that is only offering online coursework can engage in remote learning from their home country. Students whose schools have moved to a hybrid program, or students whose SEVIS record is in Initial status (new students) cannot engage in remote learning from their home country to maintain F-1 status.
The new guidance is short-sighted and inflexible, particularly as many institutions are still trying to determine the safest way to educate their students in a fluid situation. The guidance is harmful to international students and to the larger campus communities, because it puts student and faculty health and well-being at risk. In the long-term, it continues the administration’s path of making U.S. higher education less attractive to talented international students who would otherwise study here.
If you have questions about how students at your institution may be impacted, or if you are a student with questions of your own, you can contact us to schedule a consultation or discussion.