Inside Higher Ed

Elizabeth Redden

July 27, 2020

New U.S. immigration guidance clarifies that new international students — unlike continuing international students — cannot come to American colleges to take a “100 percent” online course load this fall.

U.S. immigration officials have issued new guidance saying new international students — unlike current international students — cannot come to the U.S. to take an entirely online course of study.

However, while one expert noted a lack of clarity on this point, the guidance issued Friday by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program seems to affirm that new international students may enroll in hybrid programs consisting of a mix of in-person and online courses, as long as their coursework is not “100 percent online.” It also says that students will not be at risk of deportation if their institutions switch from an in-person or hybrid mode to an online-only mode in the middle of the term due to the pandemic.

The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) is a division of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE.

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