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What exactly did the new guidelines say?
On 7th July 2020, the Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security issued new visa regulations that take effect from the fall 2020 semester, which begins in September. These guidelines were published by the SEVP — the Student and Exchange Visitor Program — which sits under the Department of Homeland Security and regulates all student visa matters. There are three guidelines you need to know about.
Guideline 1: Fully online courses — your visa is no longer valid
If you are on an F1 or M1 visa and your university has decided to conduct the entire fall semester completely online, your visa is no longer valid. The government's position is simple: if you do not need to physically attend classes or meet your professors in person, there is no reason for you to remain in the United States. You would need to leave the country immediately or transfer to another course or university that requires physical attendance. On top of that, no new visas will be issued to students enrolling in fully online programmes, and even if a visa was issued earlier, those students will be stopped at the border and not allowed to enter.
Guideline 2: In-person classes — you are fine
If your school is continuing with in-person classes, you are allowed to stay in the US and carry on with your education. You can still take some online classes, but the maximum is just one online class per semester. This has to be maintained throughout the entire fall semester — meaning you cannot drift above that one-online-class limit at any point.
Guideline 3: Hybrid model — you are fine, but there are conditions
If your school adopts a hybrid model — a mix of online and in-person classes — your visa remains valid and you can stay in the US. However, you must take a minimum number of classes online (as defined by the guidelines), and this has to be maintained throughout the semester. There is one more important step: your school must issue you a new I-20 that officially informs the SEVP that the course structure is a mix of online and offline — not fully online.
Who is actually impacted by these changes?
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Book a Mock InterviewThe most directly affected group is F1 students who are currently inside the US and whose course has gone completely online. Just days before these regulations came out, Harvard had announced it was moving its entire fall 2020 semester online, and many other universities had made similar announcements. All of that now needs to be reworked. Under the new guidelines, all colleges and universities have just 10 days from 7th July to inform the SEVP how they are structuring the next semester.
There is a second, trickier situation to watch out for. Suppose your semester begins on a hybrid model — you are attending some classes in person and some online. Partway through the semester, your university is forced to switch entirely to online because COVID-19 cases spike on campus. At that point, as per these guidelines, you would no longer be eligible to stay in the US. It is an uncertain position to be in, and I want you to be aware of it.
The third group affected is students who left the US in March 2020, just before international borders closed, and are now back in India. If your course has gone completely online, you will not be allowed to re-enter the US. That said, given that international travel is largely not happening anyway and borders are still shut, if you are in this position I would not panic too much about it right now.
What should you do right now?
If you are currently in the US: stay close to your university
Stay in very close touch with your college, your university, and your professors. A lot is going to change in the coming days. Most universities are already working towards a hybrid model so that their students are not affected by these regulations. They are figuring out how to conduct classes while keeping both students and faculty safe — for example, by dividing classes into smaller batches that rotate on different days of the week, or by keeping lab work, presentations, and research work in person while moving lectures online. These changes will come quickly, probably within a week, so be proactive and make sure you do not miss any communication from your institution.
If you are outside the US: consider finishing this semester from home
If you are back in India and your course has gone fully online, my honest recommendation is to stay home and complete this semester online. I know that is not ideal for everyone — some courses require lab work or physical interaction. But if you can work it out with your university, finishing the semester from home lets you continue your education without a break, get through this period of uncertainty, and hopefully be in a much clearer position — both in terms of visa regulations and the pandemic situation — before the next semester begins.
For everyone: wait, watch, and do not make rash decisions
This is the most important piece of advice I can give you right now: sit tight and do not make any hasty decisions. A lot is moving every single day. Within hours of these regulations being announced, Harvard and MIT filed a lawsuit against the government arguing that the ban was unjust and that universities should be allowed to go online. Many other prestigious schools are fighting hard to maintain the online status of their courses because it is simply safer for everyone. At a diplomatic level, India has also raised this issue with the US, and those discussions are ongoing. On top of all of this, the US presidential election is due in November 2020, and the outcome of that will have a major impact on what happens next with these regulations. So my strong recommendation is to make the best of what you have, finish this semester, and hold on. Hopefully, by the time the next semester starts in 2021, things will be in a much better place.
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