The Trump administration has dropped a policy that would have stripped international college students of their U.S. visas if their coursework was entirely online.
This development ends a proposed plan that had thrown the higher education world into turmoil.
“For the hundreds of thousands of international students across this country who enrich our institutions and strengthen our communities — we celebrate this victory with you,” Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement.
The policy which was announced on July 6, prompted an immediate lawsuit from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
According to our sources the government and the universities on Tuesday reached a resolution, according to the judge overseeing the case.
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 Allison Burroughs said, adding that the agreement applied nationwide.
CNN reported that according to another source, the White House is now focused on having the rule apply only to new students, rather than students already in the US. The White House declined to comment on an ongoing policy process.
