What International Students Need to Know About the New ICE Fall 2020 Rule

On July 6th 2020, ICE published a new guidance that applies to F1 and M1 international students in the United States.

Here is a breakdown of the top things to know about the new rule.

Scroll to the bottom of the page for Resources

Note: This article will be updated if the rule changes.

On July 14th, 2020 it was announced that ICE has agreed to rescind on this policy

What does this new rule say?

The Student and Exchange Visitor Program announced that international students who have a college or university which will be going fully online for Fall 2020 coursework, will not be allowed to stay in the United States.

Students are faced with three choices:

Go back to their home countries, and continue to be enrolled in the institution and continue with the online course work but within their home countries.
Transfer to institutions that are offering online or hybrid classes.
Stay in the United States, which will lead to a violation of their visa status and risk deportation.

If the college or university has hybrid classes, meaning that some classes will be in person and some online, the student can stay in the US.

In hybrid class cases, students must work with their school to inform SEVIS that they are taking the required classes towards their degree and that not all of those classes are being taken online.

(Note: There is an exception to the hybrid class rule if an F1 student is taking an English language training program or if you are an M1 student pursuing a vocational degree.)

Also note that:

The US State Department will not be issuing student visas for any institution that has announced its fall 2020 classes to be online.
The US Customs and Border Protection, will not be allowing students into the United States even if they do hold a valid visa if their institution has gone all online for the Fall 2020 semester.

To read the full official SEVP statement, click here.

What if your school has in-person classes?

If your school is keeping to the normal in-class lectures, then this new rule does not apply to you.

Yet, you still have to comply with your normal visa status.

This means that eligible F1 students can only take 1 class ( 3 credit hours), in an online format.

Note: If your school decides later on that they will be moving to only online classes, they have to give SEVP notice within 10 days. If this were to occur, then this rule would kick in.

What if your country has a travel ban?

As of right now, the SEVP has not indicated what students should do if their home country has a ban.

What can you, as an international student, do?

Reach out to your International Student Services Office and work with them to see if your institution is taking the necessary steps to have classes that qualify for you to stay within the United States.

If you plan on leaving the country and your country has a travel ban for people who have been in the United States, research if you can apply for an exception to the travel ban.

Some universities have emergency funds for current students, reach out to them. See if any of the funds would be available to cover the expenses of your travels back home.

If you are unsure about your school’s position on the matter, always reach out before buying a ticket out of the country! There might be a way they can help you meet the requirements.

Even if your school already has publicly stated that they will only be holding online classes, they might still be able to change their mind.

If you wish to transfer to another school, I would advise you to look at community colleges since they usually hold longer admission periods. Therefore, some might still be willing to take in more students.