Trump administration rescinds rule on foreign students

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has walked back a policy that would have stripped international college students of their US visas if their coursework was entirely online, ending a proposed plan that had thrown the higher education world into turmoil.

US district judge Allison Burroughs in Massachusetts said the US government and Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology that sued over the measure had come to a settlement that would roll back the July 6 rules and restore the previous status quo. The agreement reinstates a policy implemented in March amid the pandemic that gave international students flexibility to take all their classes online and remain legally in the country with student visas.

“Both the policy directive and the frequently asked questions would not be enforced anyplace” under the resolution, Judge Burroughs said.Tens of thousands of foreign students in America, many from India, were holding their breath with eyes trained on the courtroom in Boston. The Harvard-MIT case was to be heard at 3pm EST on Tuesday (12.30am IST Wednesday), hours before the deadline for academic institutions to file “operation change plans” offering in-person classes.