US Plans to Ban Entry of New International Students Taking '100% Online Courses'

Immigration Customs Enforcement: "High Possibility of Visa Denial for Freshmen Taking All Courses Online This Fall Semester"

▲Harvard University campus view located in Massachusetts, USA [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The U.S. government, which faced backlash after attempting to cancel visas for international students taking 100% online courses in the fall semester, is expected to narrow its target and push for an entry ban only on new international students.

Concerns are rising that the damage will be significant for Korean new international students as well, given their considerable numbers.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), under the Department of Homeland Security, notified university officials on the 24th (local time) that "new students who have not registered by March 9 and plan to take fully online courses this fall semester are highly likely to be denied visas."

This means that new international students taking only remote classes will not be allowed to enter the United States.

However, ICE added that international students currently in the U.S. or those abroad who hold visas and are about to re-enter will maintain their visas even if they take 100% online courses in the U.S.

Students who initially attend in-person classes and later switch to online courses can also remain in the U.S.

According to the Associated Press, "This policy mainly targets new international students who plan to enroll in schools conducting all classes online due to the COVID-19 pandemic."

ICE explained that this directive was issued to clarify the policy announced in March, which relaxed restrictions on online course enrollment for international students. The letter stated that the relaxation applies only to students already registered at schools as of March 9.

Typically, foreign students attending U.S. universities are not allowed to take more than one online course per semester, but ICE had eased this rule considering the COVID-19 situation, allowing international students to maintain their visas even if they took only online classes.

Previously, the Trump administration announced on the 6th a directive banning the stay and issuance of new visas for non-immigrant F-1 and M-1 visa students taking 100% online courses in the fall semester, but faced strong backlash and fully withdrew the policy after about a week.

The American Council on Education (ACE), representing over 1,800 universities, stated, "We had already been preparing for such a situation," but also expressed that "it is still disappointing."

Harvard University has requested Congress to extend ICE’s March policy to new international students as well, but expects no changes by the fall semester. Harvard also stated that new international students can take online courses from abroad or defer admission.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Harvard initially planned to allow all new students to reside on campus but, anticipating ICE’s announcement, notified foreign new students this week that they cannot join the campus.

In the 2019-2020 academic year, there were about 1.1 million international students in the U.S. Korean international students numbered 52,250. ACE estimates that about 250,000 international students will enroll in U.S. universities this fall semester.

Meanwhile, according to the education media 'The Chronicle of Higher Education,' about 1,250 universities, accounting for 12% of all universities, plan to offer 100% online courses affected by this measure. Harvard, Princeton, and the University of California are among them.

Universities adopting mixed online and offline courses account for 34%, while about half offer only in-person classes.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.