It appears that there are many gray areas in recent SEVP updates like how many online classes will be allowed for international students to take for Fall 2020. Soon after the SEVP/ICE released the update, which basically says 100% online school students can’t enter the U.S. for Fall 2020, higher education practitioners in Eastern part of the U.S. were gathered online to discuss about what they have heard from SEVP representatives on topics that aren’t clear enough. Below is the summary of what has been discussed and what are practitioners thoughts on each topic. Any changes and updates will be available in the website, so make sure you subscribe to SEVISSAVVY.COM.
Contents
- How “online courses” can be defined?
- The maximum number of online credits that international students can register
- Impact on OPT/CPT
- Who will receive the new I-20?
- J students and visiting scholars
How “online courses” can be defined?
How to define online course is an important matter because colleges and universities may design courses for international students to prevent F visa students from being forced to leave the country in the middle of the semester due to unexpected situation. This was one of those things that one said A and the other said B. For example, one university staff was told that if there’s just one component that makes students to not complete the course online, it can be considered as an in person course. On the other hand, other staff was told that 51% of courses should take place in person to be categorized as an in person class. Therefore, everyone is waiting for the further guidance on the definition of online courses. For readers’ information, immigration law defines the online course as below.
For F-1 students enrolled in classes for credit or classroom hours, no more than the equivalent of one class or three credits per session, term, semester, trimester, or quarter may be counted toward the full course of study requirement if the class is taken on-line or through distance education and does not require the student’s physical attendance for classes, examination or other purposes integral to completion of the class. An on-line or distance education course is a course that is offered principally through the use of television, audio, or computer transmission including open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, or satellite, audio conferencing, or computer conferencing.”
8 CFR 214.2(F)(6)(I)(G)
The maximum number of online credits that international students can register
- 100% online only schools: Students can take as many as they want AND as many as they are allowed to take.
- In-person schools: 1 course or total 3 credits will be counted toward the full time course load (undergraduate: 12 credits, graduate: 9 credits)
- Hybrid schools: SEVP updates says “Nonimmigrant F-1 students attending schools adopting a hybrid model will be allowed to take more than one class or three credit hours online.” Practitioners agreed that students should be enrolled in at least 1 in person class and they should choose in person classes over online classes if possible.
Impact on OPT/CPT
- Online only schools: Since students in college which only offer online classes have no option other than taking online classes in their home countries, SEVIS records for this group of students will remain active although they are not physically in the United States. Thus, students can apply for CPT/OPT in the next term AND they don’t need a new visa or the form I-20 to re-enter the U.S. once this new regulation is lifted (or your school switch to hybrid or in person).
- In person or hybrid schools: If a student is enrolled in universities that offer in person and hybrid courses AND the student choose to remain in the home country and take online classes, her/his SEVIS record should be terminated. In other words, you need to obtain a new visa and form I-20 when you seek to re-enter the United States for Spring 2021 intake. Additionally, the student should spend at least one full academic year to be eligible for applying CPT and OPT. If a student has only one more year to go and would like to apply for post OPT once he/she graduate (if the student would like to apply for OPT in May 2021), It is advisable to come to the United States for Fall 2020.
Who will receive the new I-20?
To follow the new SEVP guideline, international students who are enrolled in in-person and hybrid schools should be issued the new I-20 with remarks, regardless of where you are – in the United States or in your home country – by August 4th. As electronic I-20 is still valid, many higher education institutions will choose to issue an electronic copy of I-20. Under the Remarks field, three things should be written:
- the school is not operating entirely online; and
- the student is not taking an entirely online course load for the fall 2020 semester; and
- the student is taking the minimum number of online classes request to make normal progress in their program.
For students attending schools in the US this fall, P/DSOs must issue new Form I-20s by August 4th, 2020 certifying in the remarks that the school is not operating entirely online, that the student is not taking an entirely online course load for the fall 2020 semester, and the student is taking the minimum number of online classes request to make normal progress in their program. This will be used by Department of State for visa processing as well as Customs and Border Protection for entry into the Unites States.
BROADCAST MESSAGE: COVID-19 AND FALL 2020
J students and visiting scholars
There’s no specific guideline for J students. For visiting scholars, many practitioners agree that the rule will be flexible. That being said, it would be wise for exchange professors to choose usual classroom setting rather than online format, when it comes to the method of instruction.
