International Students may face Deportation in new ICE Guidelines

In the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, international students who are enrolled in online-only courses due to COVID-19 will not receive visas for the fall semester unless they attend some in-person classes.

FARGO, N.D. – A new regulation from Immigration and Customs Enforcement is threatening the status of international students attending U.S. universities.

In the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, international students who are enrolled in online-only courses due to COVID-19 will not receive visas for the fall semester unless they attend some in-person classes.

Many universities across the country are still offering online-only curriculum due to COVID-19.

NDSU says that this should not be an issue for their international students.

“If they are in any courses that might be online, then we look at them individually to make sure that they have in person courses or that they have enough in-person credits so that they are maintaining their status in the US,” said Alicia Kauffman, the Director of International Student & Study Abroad Services at NDSU.

The regulation also states that those who do not transfer to a school offering in-person classes may face deportation.