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US announces it won't take new foreign students for all-online classes

US announces it won't take new foreign students for all-online classes

Donald Trump

The United States has announced it will not take in any new foreign students seeking online-only study, after revoking a controversial order that expelled those already studying in the country and preparing for that in the wake of the pandemic.

The policy change was announced in a statement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday.

President Donald Trump has suspended several kinds of visas for foreigners during the coronavirus crisis.

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The original policy change of revoking the visas of foreign students whose classes will move online in the autumn was taken to court by top universities including Harvard and MIT, teachers unions and at least 18 states.To this end, the administration on July 14 the administration reversed course and rescinded the decision.

That measure had been seen as a move by Trump to put pressure on educational institutions that are adopting a cautious approach to reopening amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump is also eager for schools at all levels to reopen with in-person classes as a sign of a return to normality as he fights an uphill battle for re-election in November. He has been pushing for this even though the virus is out of control in some states, with the US death toll a world-high of more than 144,000.

Most US colleges and universities have not yet announced their plans for the fall semester but Harvard has said all its classes for the 2020-21 academic year will be conducted online, "with rare exceptions."

(with inputs from agencies)