Corona virus threatens the future of more than a million foreign students in America

Just hours after the prestigious Harvard University announced that all classes for the academic year 2020-2021 will be held remotely due to the outbreak of the new Corona virus, US immigration authorities have issued new rules that include non-renewal of visas for students whose universities resort to online education, and no new visas will be issued for new students In those universities.

This measure is expected to affect the 1.2 million foreign students enrolled in American universities, as well as those participating in academic training programs.

Under the new law, foreign students whose universities use the online teaching method will have to leave the country, otherwise they will face the risk of deportation.

The statement of the immigration authorities also confirmed that "the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not grant new visas and that the elements of implementation of immigration laws will not allow entry to students enrolled in universities that offer distance education programs."

A foreign student needs to study in the United States to obtain an educational visa known as "I-20". In order to maintain this visa, the student is required to attend a full-time university at least three semesters (9 study hours) on average during the 15-week semester .

The decision is a huge shock to more than a million foreign students preparing to resume their studies in the United States next fall, as studies begin in most American universities before September.

Arab students represent only 5% of all foreign students in the United States, after their numbers have decreased since President Donald Trump came to power in 2016.

Saudi Arabia comes in the lead in the Arab countries with nearly 40 thousand students, which makes it the fourth country in the world in terms of the number of its students in American universities, and comes in the lead in China with 350 thousand students, followed by India and South Korea.

Dodging universities

From Minnesota, the Egyptian student, Mohamed Abdel Mabdi, spoke to Al Jazeera Net and said, "Here at the University of Minnesota there are thousands of foreign students and hundreds of them are Arabs, and there is a great tension after the recent decisions were issued."

Abdel-Mabdi, a graduate student in chemistry, said, "The university immediately sent us a statement indicating that these decisions will not affect us, as the university will adopt a mixed system that combines distance education with the personal attendance of some classes."

The new procedures exclude students enrolled in universities that combine distance education with regular traditional education.

A university professor who teaches at the University of California spoke to Al Jazeera Net and asked not to be named. He said, "The universities will circumvent and rewind these new laws. We will adopt the mixed system, and we will make attendance personally in the low number classes, to be held in the big halls in order to maintain social separation, While we will keep the classes with a large numerical density to be taught remotely. "

The university professor specializing in economic studies pointed out, "This method is easy to apply in the field of theoretical social studies, but I do not see how it can be applied in materials that require presence in laboratories and conducting tests, for example chemistry or biology, for example."

The university professor believes that these new decisions are "political in essence, as Trump does not want the elections to come in light of the closure of schools and universities, as he considers that this negatively affects his electoral fortunes."

Financial losses

According to the Immigration Policy Institute, a think tank based in Washington, DC, there are about 1.2 million foreign students who could be affected by the new laws.

International students are deployed in more than 8,700 universities and educational institutions in all US states, pumping more than $ 50 billion annually into the American economy.

Student Abdel-Mabdi notes that "foreign students are a huge source of income for the region where the university is located, in addition to educational expenses, we spend on housing, food, drink, shopping and we travel inside and outside the United States, and the cost of the student is not less than $ 100,000 a year on average."

Harvard University President Larry Baku said that he and his university are "deeply concerned about this step," describing it as "a wrong way to look at an exceptional circumstance that does not take into account the sensitivity of the conditions in the country."

"These new government directives undermine the deliberate approach taken by universities on behalf of students, including Harvard University, to plan to pursue academic programs while striking a balance between health challenges and education in the current global epidemic situation," Baku said in a statement to Harvard students.

New arrangements

On the other hand, Boston University confirmed that it will open its doors this fall for students to attend a limited number of classes in traditional classrooms. A statement by the university stated that the students should "commit to wearing face masks all the time, and to maintain social divergence procedures, and that the university will conduct tests to detect HIV infection for students before the start of the new school year."