Photo from Wiki Media
By Jocelyn Zhou ’23
Staff Writer
On July 6, 2020, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency announced that nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 students could not take full online course loads and remain in the United States. International students risked deportation if the college or university they attended switched to remote learning for the fall 2020 semester, which many had already announced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This sizable decision resulted in immediate backlash.
The policy stated that it would not apply to universities offering a hybrid model — a mixture of online and in-person classes — however, international students enrolled in a college with such a model were not allowed to take more than one online course. This left many international students unsure of their status in the United States, as several colleges had yet to announce their plans for the fall semester.
In response to ICE’s decision, Mount Holyoke College initially decided to adopt a hybrid model to help students adjust to the new situation. However, some international students, like Nora Zhang ’22, had their doubts. “Before I got this policy, I [came] back to my hometown. But, this policy definitely made me confirm that I would not go to the U.S. for the fall semester,” she said. Ultimately, Zhang chose to take all her courses remotely due to continued uncertainty.
The policy also made it harder for international students to secure jobs in the United States. “My major concern was that taking a gap year would affect my SEVIS [Student and Exchange Visitor Information System] status because of this policy and the travel restriction so that I couldn't apply for CPT [Curricular Practical Training, off-campus work authorization for employment] next summer, which means I have no internships,” Huiyun Peng ’22 said.
Peng also recalled the College’s response to the issue. “If I remember correctly, the school didn't respond to the issues of CPT/OPT [Optional Practical Training] for international students, other than [saying] that it was all good,” Peng reflected.
Several universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, sued ICE over their decisions, ultimately resulting in them rescinding the restrictive F-1 student visa policy after one week.
After ICE rescinded the policy, Mount Holyoke College announced that it would be online-only for the fall semester.
“The main concern [with] online courses is the time differences for international students. I definitely felt tired and uncomfortable because of the time differences,” Zhang said. “However, I believe that it will be better than the worries and fear brought by the face-to-face courses now.”