India raises Trump govt's ultimatum to foreign students with US; gets mitigation assurance

After the United States on Monday issued new guidelines which state that international students will be forced to leave the country or transfer to another college if their schools offer classes entirely online in the fall due to COVID-19 pandemic, India raised the issue with the Trump administration.

'The best interests of students in mind'

According to ANI sources, the US has told India that it will keep the best interests of the students in mind and try and mitigate the impact of the new rule regarding the F-1 visa. The issue was raised during the virtual foreign office consultations between Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale.

"The issue of F-1 visa students was raised during India-US Foreign Office Consultations," a source said. The sources said that the US side took note of it and said they will keep the best interests of the students in mind and try and mitigate the impact. Detailed implementation guidelines are yet to come out, they added.

Apart from this, the two officials discussed bilateral cooperation on a full range of international issues and developed concrete steps to strengthen the US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership established by their leaders, an official statement said.

They agreed that the US-India health partnership, including cooperation on pharmaceutical and vaccine development, will continue to play a critical role in the world's recovery from COVID-19. Hale and Shringla affirmed the US and Indian visions of "a free and open Indo-Pacific region, where all countries can prosper, and agreed to work with other Indo-Pacific partners to bring these visions to reality," it said.

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'Must depart the country or take other measures'

The guidelines, issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, provide additional pressure for universities to reopen even amid growing concerns about the recent spread of COVID-19 among young adults. Colleges received the guidance the same day that some institutions, including Harvard University, announced that all instruction will be offered remotely, Associated Press reported.

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"Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status," ICE said. "If not, they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings," it added.

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ICE said the State Department "will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will US Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the United States." F-1 students pursue academic coursework and M-1 students pursue "vocational coursework," according to ICE.

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(With agency inputs)