Why Nigerians and other international students may be deported from the US for taking online-only classes
Nigerians and other international students studying in the US may be forced to leave the country or face deportation if their universities transition to online-only classes due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
According to a statement issued by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Monday, July 6, the new policy will come into effect from Fall Semester (September) 2020. The agency also noted that incoming students will be denied entry under the current policy.
“The U.S. Department of State will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will U.S. Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the United States,” the statement reads.
The new policy has caused confusion among many international students who are trying to navigate the challenges of taking classes online as their universities move classes online.
However, the ICE advised foreign students affected by the policy to consider other alternatives, which can also include transferring to schools that combine online classes with in-person instruction.
But with the difficulty involved in keeping up with online studies, many international students see the policy as an unnecessary burden.
In order to get further clarification on the policy, Neusroom reached out to the White House, and a US State Department spokesperson, Noel Clay, responded via an email, explaining that the policy is only temporary for the fall 2020 semester. He noted that students who add another in-person course to their online-only courses would still be able to retain their student visas without having to leave the country.
“We recognize the serious challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has posed to universities and students alike, and we hope that many international students who had planned to study this fall in the United States will be still able to do so under these temporary exemptions,” he said.
Some universities who uphold the discretion of keeping their campuses closed to avoid a community spread of COVID-19 are worried that they may lose students if those affected decide to transfer to other institutions that choose to open their campuses.
“We are deeply concerned that the guidance issued today by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement imposes a blunt, one-size-fits-all approach to a complex problem giving international students, particularly those in online programs, few options beyond leaving the country or transferring schools,” Harvard University President, Larry Bacow said in a statement on July 6.
To forestall the move, a Harvard University officer informed Neusroom that the university has launched a legal process to prevent the US government from enforcing the policy.
“Harvard University, along with the MIT, filed suit against US DHS and ICE over a July 6 Directive that would prevent many of Harvard’s approximately 5,000 international students from remaining in the country while pursuing their course of study online,” he said.
“The Harvard/MIT suit seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief preventing the government from enforcing the policy announced in ICE’s July 6 Directive because it violates the Administrative Procedures Act.”
The matter is still in court.
The US has strict student visa requirements where international students must obtain an F-1 visa before they could study in US universities and colleges, or the M-1 visa if they are enrolled in any technical program at any vocational institutions in the country.
Nigerians make up one of the largest international student groups that study in over 1,800 institutions of higher learning across the US. Among more than 60,000 students from Nigeria who show interest in studying in the US every year, only about 13,000 of them are admitted.
Unless the new policy barring international students who attend online-only classes from staying in the US is reversed, many Nigerian students who fall within this category may be sent back home by September.
