The Donald Trump administration measure could affect thousands of foreign students who come to the northern nation to attend universities or participate in training programs, as well as non-academic or vocational studies.
Monday’s announcement came as high school centers across the country are evaluating how it works in the fall amid the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting universities like Harvard to announce online learning for the entire school year.
This move will leave many schools in a difficult situation: reopening for in-person teaching despite the increasing number of SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus infections or facing the loss of international students and their enrollments.
That newspaper indicated that some foreign students left the United States when the pandemic broke out, and both they and their universities hoped to be able to return in the fall, but it is believed that the majority decided to remain in this nation.
According to ICE, those who violate the rules ?may face immigration consequences that include, among others, the initiation of removal proceedings?.
The statement added that the State Department will not issue visas to students who participate in online-only programs, and the Office of Customs and Border Protection will not allow them to enter the country.
Data from the Institute of International Education show that in the 2018-2019 academic year there were almost 1.1 million students from other nations in the United States, which represented 5.5 percent of the population of higher education.
The new regulation on this issue marks the latest in a series of measures by the Trump administration to restrict legal immigration and visa delivery, and was received with concern by the students and the high studies centers.
Some universities called for more clarity on how to keep their international students enrolled, but the new guide will “sow confusion and uncertainty,” said Brad Farnsworth, vice president of the American Council on Education.