Students from India, Vietnam in panic mode after ‘cruel’ new US university rule

The Trump administration has threatened to revoke the visas of hundreds of thousands of students whose courses are completely online amid the Covid-19 pandemic

They see themselves as collateral damage in the president’s re-election campaign, while many cannot afford health care – or even to go home

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Pedestrians walk through the gates of Harvard Yard at Harvard University, which along with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the new rule on online classes. Photo: AP

Published: 9:30pm, 9 Jul 2020Updated: 10:39pm, 9 Jul 2020

Sri, who studies at the University of Pittsburgh, is one of hundreds of thousands of overseas students at American universities fearing for their future after President Donald Trump’s administration threatened to revoke their visas.

“It’s a lose-lose situation. [The new rule says] either take an in-person class and die of Covid-19 or go back home,” said Sri, who is from India, and did not wish to be identified by her full name.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) this week announced that foreign students whose entire courses have moved online because of the Covid-19 pandemic must return to their home country. The restrictions affect holders of F-1 and M-1 visa holders, which are used for academic and vocational students, and must depart unless their university offers in-person instruction.

Students from abroad see themselves as collateral damage in Trump’s aggressive push to force universities and schools to reopen fully in September amid his re-election campaign. Many point out they cannot afford health care in the United States, and fear a resurgence of infections later this year, which could see all classes moved online and force them to leave the country.

However, returning home amid the pandemic is not a simple or cheap proposition, either.

“The system is messed up and international students should not have to deal with this in the first place. There are not enough Vande Bharat [repatriation] flights, and tickets and quarantine costs are very expensive. Not all can afford them,” Sri said.

“The pandemic is not over and on top of this, this ICE notification has sent students into panic mode. It’s not good for mental health either.”