US Withdraws Planned Visa Restriction for International Students
2020-07-15
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1The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has withdrawn planned visa restrictions for international students.
2The restrictions would have forced international students to leave the country if their schools held classes online because of the coronavirus crisis.
3The surprise announcement came during a federal court hearing on Tuesday in Boston, Massachusetts.
4Both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had filed the legal action seeking to overturn the rule.
5Judge Allison Burroughs said federal immigration officials had agreed to cancel the planned restrictions, which were announced July 6, and "return to the status quo."
6A lawyer representing the U.S. government confirmed that the judge's announcement was correct.
7The decision means that international students are again permitted to attend classes online and keep their visas during the health emergency "exemption."
8Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had established the exemption on March 13, when the coronavirus was spreading across the country.
9But on July 6, the agency said international students must take at least some of their college classes in person during the upcoming autumn term.
10If they could not, they must transfer to another school offering in-person classes or leave the country.
11The agency added that students would have to leave the country even if a health emergency forces their classes online after the school year begins.
12The restriction came on the same day that Harvard and several other colleges said they would hold all of their classes online in the fall.
13On July 8, Harvard and MIT filed legal action against the new restriction.
14Harvard University President Lawrence Bacow said at the time that the restriction "comes at a time when the United States has been setting daily records for the number of new infections."
15More than 200 colleges and at least 17 states have supported the action.
16Some colleges also filed their own legal action against the rule.
17About 5,000 international students at Harvard and nearly 4,000 attending MIT could have lost their visas under the restriction.
18Across the United States, nearly 400,000 international students received the F-1 or M-1 visa in the 12-month period ending in September 2019.
19"I feel relief," said Andrea Calderon, a biology student from Ecuador.
20The City College of New York student told the Associated Press, "It would have been a very big problem if I had to leave the country right now."
21I'm Jonathan Evans.
1The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has withdrawn planned visa restrictions for international students. The restrictions would have forced international students to leave the country if their schools held classes online because of the coronavirus crisis. 2The surprise announcement came during a federal court hearing on Tuesday in Boston, Massachusetts. Both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had filed the legal action seeking to overturn the rule. 3Judge Allison Burroughs said federal immigration officials had agreed to cancel the planned restrictions, which were announced July 6, and "return to the status quo." 4A lawyer representing the U.S. government confirmed that the judge's announcement was correct. 5The decision means that international students are again permitted to attend classes online and keep their visas during the health emergency "exemption." Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had established the exemption on March 13, when the coronavirus was spreading across the country. 6But on July 6, the agency said international students must take at least some of their college classes in person during the upcoming autumn term. If they could not, they must transfer to another school offering in-person classes or leave the country. The agency added that students would have to leave the country even if a health emergency forces their classes online after the school year begins. 7The restriction came on the same day that Harvard and several other colleges said they would hold all of their classes online in the fall. 8On July 8, Harvard and MIT filed legal action against the new restriction. Harvard University President Lawrence Bacow said at the time that the restriction "comes at a time when the United States has been setting daily records for the number of new infections." 9More than 200 colleges and at least 17 states have supported the action. Some colleges also filed their own legal action against the rule. 10About 5,000 international students at Harvard and nearly 4,000 attending MIT could have lost their visas under the restriction. 11Across the United States, nearly 400,000 international students received the F-1 or M-1 visa in the 12-month period ending in September 2019. 12"I feel relief," said Andrea Calderon, a biology student from Ecuador. The City College of New York student told the Associated Press, "It would have been a very big problem if I had to leave the country right now." 13I'm Jonathan Evans. 14Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English with additional information from the Associated Press. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 15_______________________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17status quo - n. the way things are now 18exemption - n. freedom from being required to do something 19transfer - v. to move from one school to another 20fall - n. the season between summer and winter