In response to a treatment backed by Northeastern, the Department of Homeland Security has retracted Order July 6 that has threatened to bar international students from remaining in the United States if they take classes exclusively online this fall.
The change in policy means there is no mandatory in-person requirement for students participating in online courses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The repeal of the rule announced last week benefits everyone – international students, universities and the United States as a whole,” he said. Joseph E. Aoun, president of the Northeast. “American higher education has always been one of the main magnets for global talent in the US. We must continue to make our universities, and our nation, a welcoming place for students and scholars from around the world. I am grateful to everyone in the North East community and beyond, who fought successfully to overturn the original rule.”
The decision, announced by Judge Allison D. Burroughs in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts on Tuesday, came in response to a lawsuit filed July 8 by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. That suit was sponsored by Northeastern, as was one similar action filed Monday by the attorneys general of 17 states and the District of Columbia.
A series of lawsuits had been filed against Homeland Security after its surprise announcement last week that international students would not be allowed to stay in the US unless they take classes in person. The decree was characterized in a court filing by Maura Healeyattorney general of Massachusetts, as “cruel, abrupt and illegal action to expel international students amid a pandemic that has caused death and disruption across the United States.”
Both Northeastern-sponsored lawsuits argued that the government order would harm students and universities, as well as the U.S. economy and public health overall.
Tuesday's hearing in Boston lasted less than five minutes as Burroughs said Homeland Security had agreed to return to its previous protocols, which were laid out in March and were widely seen as a reasonable response to the pandemic.
Before Tuesday's announcement, Northeastern believed its more than 13,000 international students would be allowed to stay in the U.S. based on the university's adoption Hybrid NUflex, which combines in-person and online learning. The university nevertheless spoke out against the federal measure, with Aoun predicting it would lead to “chaos” undermining public health interests during the pandemic.
“On behalf of our international students and our global community, we celebrate this decision,” said Jigisha B. Patel, the university's associate general counsel and chief counsel for international and immigration services. “Northeastern University continues to support our international students, and we hope to see more guidance from the federal government that gives our students the support they need and deserve during this public health crisis.”
Until the COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States, federal regulations allowed international students studying in the US to take only one course online each academic term. The rules were adjusted in March to allow international students to remain in the US while studying entirely online as universities across the country shut down in-person teaching in line with public health guidelines to slow the spread of the coronavirus. For the past four months, Patel said, the Student Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) has offered constructive mentoring that has allowed international students to maintain their relationships with universities and colleges in the US.
That changed on July 6, when Homeland Security announced that the COVID-19 exemptions would end in the fall and that international students would be limited to no more than one online class at universities returning to full courses. The now-repealed regulation would have forced international students from schools that offer exclusively online courses to either transfer or leave the U.S.
Northeastern's Global Services Office is providing updates about the rules and hosting several webinars to help international students navigate them. In addition, the university offers guidance and resources for immigration issues.
For media inquiriescontact media@northeastern.edu.
