Trump Administration Revokes International Students Visa Policy

The Trump administration will be revoking its July 6 order that temporarily barred international students from staying in the United States unless they attend at least one in-person course. This decision comes after a massive outrage against the order as well as a series of lawsuits by educational institutes. Top American companies such as Google, Facebook and, Microsoft joined 17 US states, the District of Columbia, MIT, and Harvard in the US District Court in Massachusetts against the DHS and the ICE in seeking an injunction to stop the entire rule from going into effect.

“I have been informed by the parties that they have come to a resolution. They will return to the status quo,” Judge Allison Burroughs, the federal district judge in Boston, said in a  statement.

It is great news for international students in the US as the policy would apply nationwide. In the 2018-2019 academic year, there were over 10 lakh international students in the US.

“Both the policy directive and the frequently asked questions would not be enforced anyplace,” Judge Burroughs said, referring to the agreement between the US government, MIT, and Harvard.

Congressman Brad Scneider sees this as a great win. “The Administration needs to give us a plan to tackle our public health crisis – it can’t be recklessly creating rules one day and rescinding them the next,” he said in a tweet.

“This is a major victory for the students, organisers and institutions of higher education in the #MA7 and all across the country that stood up and fought back against this racist and xenophobic rule,” said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.

“Taking online classes shouldn’t force international students out of our country,” Congressman Mikie Sherrill said in a tweet.