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the US just keeps giving international students reasons to look elsewhere for higher ed... honestly, if this had happened last year when i was due to start my program, i’d likely have withdrawn. https://twitter.com/hannahw_96/status/1280257487221002240">https://twitter.com/hannahw_9...
the instability and uncertainty that you’re asking us to commit to, not to mention the financial aspect of it all, is a big, big ask. yes, many things are out n control. but not everything.
*out of human control
i& #39;m seeing petitions going around trying to appeal for int& #39;l students to be allowed to stay in the US and take online classes, which is great, but the thing you have to realise about this ruling is that it affects different groups of int& #39;l students differently...
even for schools that care about their int& #39;l students, the ruling makes it nearly impossible to ensure that no one is left behind. i& #39;m no immigration lawyer or specialist, but here& #39;s what i understand from the ruling...
scenario 1: your school is closed for the fall or *only* offering online classes
you must leave the U.S. in order to enrol for said classes, or you risk losing your student visa.
problem: many int& #39;l students have saved for years just to get to the US and don& #39;t have the money to..
you must leave the U.S. in order to enrol for said classes, or you risk losing your student visa.
problem: many int& #39;l students have saved for years just to get to the US and don& #39;t have the money to..
..fly home and then have to fly back to the US again whenever classes resume in-person. some don& #39;t have homes to return to. even for those who can get back, not everyone will have a stable internet connection that allows them to take classes online.
scenario 2: your school is only offering in-person classes.
well, this one is obvious. you have to be in the U.S.
problem: some int& #39;l students left the U.S. last semester and now cannot return because of travel restrictions. this also obviously doesn& #39;t even begin to address..
well, this one is obvious. you have to be in the U.S.
problem: some int& #39;l students left the U.S. last semester and now cannot return because of travel restrictions. this also obviously doesn& #39;t even begin to address..
..those with health risks and problems that require them to continue to isolate themselves as far as possible. personally i think this scenario is flawed on the level of the school& #39;s decision as well, but anyway...
scenario 3: your school is offering a hybrid of in-person classes and online classes
even if a school (like @DukeDivinity @DukeU) has given students the option to enrol in all classes online for the fall, int& #39;l students cannot take this option.
even if a school (like @DukeDivinity @DukeU) has given students the option to enrol in all classes online for the fall, int& #39;l students cannot take this option.
this means that they (1) MUST be physically present in the U.S. for the fall, (2) cannot take all their classes online (so all the problems listed under scenario 2 also apply here)
in addition, if the school moves to a completely online format halfway during the semester..
in addition, if the school moves to a completely online format halfway during the semester..
..as it did in the Spring, these same students are now forced to LEAVE the U.S. or risk losing their student visas.
for those of us who are currently outside the U.S. and are being forced to fly back for classes, this potentially means spending thousands of dollars in the span..
for those of us who are currently outside the U.S. and are being forced to fly back for classes, this potentially means spending thousands of dollars in the span..
..of a few months, to fly there, and possibly then fly back home, only to have to fly back again whenever the relevant authorities determine classes can open again. an obvious problem here again is that not everyone has the financial ability to do this, plus the travel bans, etc.
i have friends who cannot get back to the U.S. and are wondering if they will now be forced to drop out of school and leave their programs. i have friends who are in the U.S. but now have to leave or be forced to drop out of school--which would mean they& #39;d have to leave anyway.
even if schools wanted to adjust their class offerings to accommodate international students according to this new ruling, they are caught in a catch-22. no matter what they do, at least one group of int& #39;l students will be prevented from continuing their edn for some reason.
this ruling does not at all consider the multitude of different situations. it hurts int& #39;l students, yes. but it also undermines all good intentions on the part of schools which have spent all summer trying to come up with plans to allow all students to continue.
what& #39;s more, in the event that the virus situation does get worse (and let& #39;s be honest, that possibility is pretty high), it disincentivizes schools that care abt their int& #39;l students from doing the responsible thing and shutting down again because doing so would incur all the..
..problems associated with scenario 1.
tldr; this is a mess on so many levels, and it seems impossible for schools to work around this.
tldr; this is a mess on so many levels, and it seems impossible for schools to work around this.
here are some solutions people have considered:
some schools are getting creative, creating & #39;fake& #39; in-person classes for students in scenario 1. great. financial aid can theoretically be offered if that& #39;s a barrier to those in scenarios 2 or 3. great. but what about travel bans?
some schools are getting creative, creating & #39;fake& #39; in-person classes for students in scenario 1. great. financial aid can theoretically be offered if that& #39;s a barrier to those in scenarios 2 or 3. great. but what about travel bans?
leave of absences are difficult for international students to secure. typically we have to prove that there are extenuating circumstances. but more problematically, taking a LOA will put your visa status at risk again, because if you take an LOA you must also leave the country,..
and once you& #39;re outside of the country for > 5 months, your status is revoked. you would need to reapply, & for some this is not a straightforward process at all. getting visas to the US is notoriously difficult, dependent on arbitrary decisions made by visa officers who judge..
..your intent to immigrate based on how strong you can prove your "ties to your home country" are. many embassies have not even been taking visa appts in the past few months, and doing anything that would require you to apply for a new visa now is very risky.
speaking of which, another problem with scenario 2/3 is that many students who can and want to go to the US to start programs have not received their visas because embassies haven& #39;t been issuing them. that& #39;s been a problem quite apart from this ruling.
with this ruling coming so late (many semesters start in a month), it& #39;s just exacerbating many other pre-existing problems. schools have to issue new paperwork for all int& #39;l students as well, and we all know how long paperwork takes.
i haven& #39;t even gotten into all the rules and restrictions related to internships, jobs, etc. when you& #39;re on a student visa. this tweet would go on forever. let& #39;s just reiterate that this ruling is going to leave many students high and dry. in so many ways.
navigating visa issues is already exhausting and terrifying under normal circumstances. now? i won& #39;t be surprised if many others, like myself, are questioning whether it& #39;s even worth it.
(as an addendum, hopefully this will help to change the fact that many schools with a low int& #39;l population aren& #39;t well-versed in visa policy and are unable to offer advice or ensure that they help us stay & #39;in status& #39; under normal conditions...)
& on that note... @DukeU @DukeDivinity, i& #39;m trusting that your silence is b/c you& #39;re scrambling to figure out how to best handle this new, horrible ruling, but your int& #39;l students would like to hear *something* soon...even if it& #39;s just to say tt you& #39;re working to figure it out..
