65 US universities including Harvard and MIT oppose Trump administration's visa policy changes for foreign students

As many as 65 top US universities, including Harvard and MIT, have challenged Trump ministration in a court against its new stringent visa policy for foreign students, warning that new 'backdating' rule will have a detrimental effect on America's higher education system. new policy anunced by Trump ministration in August places restrictions on overstaying a visa.

Under longstanding immigration policies, when an individual is longer authorised to remain in US  such as when a visa expires  a period of "unlawful presence" begins. After six months of unlawful presence, an individual can be forced to return to ir country of origin and subject to a three year bar from US.

Prior to August policy change, individuals only began to accrue unlawful presence day after government issued an official determination that visa holder was "out of status".

With new rules, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can set retroactive start dates for unlawful presence that begin day after an individual's degree program is complete or day after a person's visa expires.

top institutions, including Harvard, MIT, Cornell, Yale, and Princeton signed onto an amicus brief filed on Monday, December 24, arguing that new rule puts visa-holding students in a position to make "tough choices".

se institutions argue that new policy's use of a "backdated unlawful-presence clock" will render tens of thousands of F, J and M categories of visa holders subject to three and 10-year re-entry bars without any opportunity to cure.

According to National Association of Foreign Student visors (NAFSA), international students contributed USD 39 billion to US ecomy during 2017-2018 acemic year. same study found ecomic activity of foreign students supported over 455,000 American jobs.

65 institutions and one higher education system Board, mostly member institutions of Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, signed brief which urges federal court to grant m motion for a preliminary injunction.

brief explains that new 'backdating' rule introduces considerable uncertainty into calculation of unlawful presence and needlessly exposes international students to devastating reentry bans.

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" new rule will harm international students and scholars, as well as institutions which host m," it said.

It tes new backdating rule by US Citizenship and Immigration Services will likely result in fewer international students, scholars and instructors contributing to communities.

brief supports Guilford College, et al in its lawsuit against US Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M Nielsen et al. It was filed in US District Court for Middle District of rth Carolina.

"International students and scholars are vital members of our campus communities and important contributors to our nation," said John J DeGioia, Georgetown University President and Presidents' Alliance Steering Committee Member.

" talents, perspectives, insights and passion to serve our world that y bring our campus communities benefits our nation and contributes to common good that we all share," he said.

brief argues that a 10 per cent rise in ratio of foreign gruate students to total gruate students results in a 5.1 per cent increase in patent grants. International students and scholars also continue to contribute to US ecomy beyond ir periods of enrolment.

For example, in a study of American startup companies valued at USD 1 billion or more, it was found that nearly one quarter of such businesses h a founder who first came to United States as an international student, it said.

backdating rule introduces significant uncertainty and punishes students for reasons that are frequently beyond students' control. In some cases, students and exchange visitors can fall out-of-status due to unwitting clerical and technical errors, often of someone else's making, brief said.

In many cases, infraction will t be discovered (or determined, as F, M, and J regulations are t always clear and may be subject to varying interpretations) until individual reapplies for ar immigration benefit, such as an optional practical training allowance or an H-1B visa, it said.

"A ban, in turn, could have devastating immediate consequences for a student's course of study and would outright bar student from reentering US for any reason  even for business purposes, or to see a child  for a period of year," brief said, ding that new rule will diminish US' ability to compete for international students and scholars.

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This decline in international student enrolment and in engment with international researchers and professors will have a detrimental effect on system of higher education in United States.

"As of today international students continue to make this country global leer in higher education, but gap is closing. United States' 'market share has dropped from 23 per cent in 2000 to 16 per cent in 2012' with China, Cana, Britain and Russia all vying for same pool of talent," it said.