Future of International Students Remains Uncertain After DHS Proposal
3 min read
In the Trump government’s most recent move to restrict immigration. The DHS Proposal has fixed time limits for worldwide students, marking one of the greatest policy shifts in the previous twenty years.
On 25th Sept the federal agency issued plans to restrict the duration of all student visas. Saying that the change would encourage program compliance, lower fraud, and improve national security. The move would change the current policy that permits these visitors to stay in the nation inconclusively so long as they follow the terms of admission.
The DHS proposed plan would get serious about exceeds by requiring international students to apply for extensions. To finish their degrees after the date specified on their visas — usually after four years. Furthermore, extensions would not really be ensured, despite the fact that most first-time college students take over five years to gain a bachelor’s degree, according to the National Student Clearinghouse.
“Various individuals go to the United States with the expectations of getting educational opportunities that they wouldn’t have gotten in their own nations,” said Ysabella Vistan ’23, an international student from the Philippines. “This DHS proposal is devastating and would break so many future plans and dreams.”
The new rule would make conditions much more precarious for international students. Furthermore, Vistan said that she figured this new rule would encourage international students to think twice about applying to U.S. universities because of that uncertainty.
DHS Proposal
Under the policy, students from more than 50 countries could be barred from four-year programs. Rather, they would only be granted two-year visas — the objective to clearly limit the number of visa overstays. The two-year limitation applies to nations that have been named as having an overstay rate of more than 10% or are on the State Sponsors of Terrorism List, including much of the African continent.
At Cornell, this could include as many as 200 total undergraduate, graduate, and skilled students, as per fall 2019 data.
“Nobody needs to go to their dream college and live in fear that they could be kicked out at any second,” Vista said. Her home country of the Philippines would be influenced by the proposed rule.
[Unemployment rate does not justify H-1B program changes: NFAP]
“The rule would comprise the largest changes to international students and scholars in 20 years,” said Prof. Steven Yale-Loehr, law, who focuses especially around immigration and asylum law.
The DHS decided to take this course of action because of the potential threat to national security and the possibility of fraud, according to Yale-Loehr. But he sees it as emblematic of broader trends surrounding immigration and international students.
The department’s claim that we need to have more guidelines for international students is false. He proceeded, “we already adequately supervise international students and I don’t see any reason to go further.”
At Cornell, international students are a huge portion of the student body. Comprising 11 percent of undergraduates, 51 percent of graduates, and 34 percent of skilled students.
After the DHS Proposal declaration, Cornell wrote to international students that this modification would be a “critical one for worldwide students and scholars.”
Conclusion
While the University has offered no further comments, their email said they would continue to advocate on behalf of worldwide students. Additionally, they encouraged students to submit comments to the DHS that will at last be considered before a final decision.
However, this rule has a 30-day comment period, which implies that starting at now, students and institutions have until Oct. 26 to submit comments against this policy. Before this sweeping change alters the fate of international students in the United States.
