Early in the morning, a blockbuster news broke the circle of friends: the US government agreed to revoke the new regulations for international student visas!

  On July 14, local time, just before Harvard University and MIT sued the U.S. government's new regulations on international student visas, Boston District Court Judge Burroughs announced that the U.S. government had agreed to revoke the previously issued new regulations on international student visas.

  Burroughs said that to the best of his knowledge, the parties have reached a settlement and everything will be restored.

  This event, which lasted for more than a week and attracted global attention, finally ended temporarily.

Can't get US visa for online class only?

Wonderful new regulations confuse international students

  On July 6, the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement Administration (ICE) issued a notice saying that international students in the fall semester of 2020 will not be able to obtain a visa to the United States or maintain a current visa if they only take online courses.

  This news directly killed international students in the United States.

  Krishnan, a doctoral student at Iowa State University, posted a video on social media titled "I'm going to be kicked out of the United States" and said: "The only constant in my life is my education, and now You took it away from me."

  The 25-year-old Irish girl Cio Class studied biochemistry at a university in New York City. She originally chose all online courses in the fall semester. Unexpectedly, she suddenly encountered problems caused by the US government. She is anxious because of her poor health. She is worried that if she is infected with the new coronavirus on an international long-distance journey, she may become seriously ill and even face her life.

Data map: May 24, 2018 local time, Massachusetts, Harvard University held a graduation ceremony.

  The 24-year-old Lisa is from Africa. The University of Massachusetts Amherst only offers online courses in the fall semester. According to the new visa regulations, she may be forced to leave the United States and return to her country to take online courses, but her country does not have an online environment that can support online courses.

  According to statistics, in the 2018-2019 school year, the total number of international students in colleges and universities in the United States is nearly 1.1 million, of which nearly 370,000 are Chinese students. They are also greatly affected.

  Zhou Huahao, an undergraduate student at Yale University in the United States, said that after hearing this policy, "everyone is actually very panicked and angry." The “biggest challenge” that international students are facing is actually this kind of uncertainty.

  Wang Haibo, an MBA major at Emory University, said, "Everyone's first reaction is to be more anxious and more confused." International students feel they are becoming "no choice."

  At a regular press conference of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 7, spokesman Zhao Lijian said that China will pay close attention to the development of US policy and will fully protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students studying in the United States.

Data Map: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian.

"One size fits all" policy provokes anger

People from all walks of life in joint lawsuits in universities condemned

  International students are confused, and American universities are very angry.

  International students' tuition and living expenses are important sources of income for many colleges and universities. Harvard rebuked the US government for "one size fits all" and completely ignored the fact that online courses in colleges and universities were really helpless for epidemic prevention.

  A letter from President Lawrence Barco to all teachers and students was posted on the homepage of Harvard University's official website. The letter stated that the new regulations of ICE "have no signs, cold and reckless."

  On July 8, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed a lawsuit to prevent the US government from implementing the new visa regulations for international students.

  Subsequently, many well-known universities such as the University of California, Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, and Princeton University, Cornell University, and the University of Pennsylvania may submit legal documents to the court in support of the lawsuits of the two universities, or they may bring their own lawsuits.

  The United States Association of Higher Education and Immigration Principals issued a statement on the 10th that members of the 180 colleges and universities of the alliance jointly submitted legal documents supporting the Harvard and MIT lawsuits. Feld Bloom, the executive director of the alliance, said in a statement that the new US government visa regulations for international students will seriously affect the study of international students and "make the United States worse". She said that so many public development voices in American colleges and universities show that the higher education community widely supports international students and values ​​their tremendous contributions to American colleges and universities.

  In addition to litigation, colleges and universities also introduced policies that benefit students. Yale University, Columbia University, New York University and many other universities issued a statement that the school will adopt a combination of "online and offline" teaching in accordance with the new regulations to ensure that students can legally stay in the United States to complete their studies.

  The new regulations also attracted criticism from all parties. Officials from many states in the United States have expressed disagreement and expressed their dissatisfaction. Nearly a hundred members of Congress wrote to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security on the 9th, calling the new regulations "unreasonable and xenophobic."

  Under the pressure of strong public opinion, on July 12, ICE finally let go and made some changes to the new policy.

  The revised rules are as follows: international students who are in the United States cannot choose online courses; international students who are outside the United States can choose online courses locally; students who do not return to the United States but return to school, but still online courses, student status It is still valid and only needs to remain active in SEVIS.

  But all sectors do not buy it. 17 states in the United States and the capital, Washington, DC, filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court in Boston, Massachusetts on the 13th, seeking to prevent the new regulations for foreign student visas issued by the US government from taking effect.

Many universities welcome the new visa cancellation regulations

  After the announcement of the cancellation of the new visa regulations, the presidents of many American universities welcomed this.

  President of South Carolina Carol Forte said on social media, "This is an exciting victory for our international students and the entire higher education. I am proud of the University of Southern California and colleagues across the country ."

Data Map: On June 16, 2019, Stanford University's 2019 graduation ceremony was held at Stanford Stadium. China News Service reporter Liu Guanguan

  Princeton University also responded by saying that it welcomes the federal government's decision to lift the ban on foreign students.

  Columbia University President Lee Bolinger said in a statement, "Thanks to the overwhelming opposition from the higher education community and elsewhere, tens of thousands of international students are protected from the possible damage caused by such unwise government policies Sexual consequences."

  New York State Attorney General Letitia James said the US government’s eagerness to reopen schools “threatens the public health and safety of all students, all faculty and staff, and hundreds of millions of residents in New York and other parts of the country.”

Chinese students: Try to make arrangements for the uncertain future

  Many Chinese students were also very happy to learn about the cancellation of the new regulations. Nan Jia, a Chinese student from China, said that for many international students, the new visa regulations mean that he wants to extend or shorten the original study plan and affect the future planning. Visa cancellation makes everyone feel relieved. San Francisco State University international student Luo also said that when he heard the revocation of the new regulations, “it seemed like a big stone fell to the ground”.

  In just 9 days, the U.S. government conducted a self-directed ups and downs plot of "restarting the campus". Although the U.S. government temporarily "relaxed" after pressure from all sides, but for the students who are on the cusp of the United States, various policies Whether it will change again, what the future will be, no one is fully sure.

  They can only prejudge the difficulties they may face, and try to make thorough plans and arrangements.

  "The school is about to start in August, but the visa hasn't waited yet, and I'm very worried that I will'drop out of school.'" Luo Jing, who graduated this year with a master's degree, received PHDoffer from the Johns Hopkins University mechanical engineering major in April, but she Still feel that the future is full of uncertainty. Luo Jing said that the worst case was that the visa was refused and he reapplied for a doctorate from a European school.

  In the past two days, Luo Jing has made an appointment for the interview in Beijing in August, "but according to the previous situation, I am very worried that the interview will be cancelled. In addition, the instructor informed me in the email that the school has not formulated the details of the autumn semester. I suggest that I wait Look."

  Wang Wei, who is also a “prospective” international student, got a Master of Finance offer from Washington University in St. Louis and was “calm”. His school has been thoughtful for international students, offering two options for admission in September and the end of January next year. Wang Ziwei chose to enroll in January next year, mainly considering the seriousness of the US epidemic and the high risk of going to school. In the past six months, he is going to find an internship and apply for a National University of Singapore project in case of going to school in the United States to regenerate variables.

  The 22-year-old Benjamin also said that he planned to go to Carnegie Mellon University to study computer science in the fall, but sudden policy changes made him have to reconsider. At present, he and his friends are discussing whether they can go to Europe for further study.

Data map: July 4, local time, Washington, United States, the National Square overcrowded in previous years was deserted. China News Agency reporter Chen Meng

  It has to be said that since the outbreak of the epidemic, international students in the United States have been under tremendous academic and psychological pressure, and the way to study has become particularly difficult. The ever-changing visa policy has also left them suffering. Fortunately, now the US government has reached a consensus with various universities, hoping that the international students will have a smooth road to study, don't chill their hearts again!

  Source: Comprehensive China News Network, China Overseas Chinese Network, Xinhua Network, CCTV News, American Chinese Network, etc.

  Author: Wang Qin Ming-Yang