Clarifying Student Visa Questions for 2020

Students Currently in the United States:

According to new guidelines recently released by the Trump Administration, students in the United States are eligible to receive an F or M Visa for Fall classes. It does not matter whether the classes will be held in person, online or as a hybrid of the two. If your school switches from in person or hybrid classes to fully online, you may remain in the country and continue your studies in whatever fashion the school is operating. Students will not face enforcement actions or loss of their nonimmigrant student status, provided they break no laws or Immigration regulations while in the country.

Students Currently outside the United States:

If a student or prospective student is outside the United States, they may apply for an F or M Visa to study in the US at any school conducting any classes in person. This includes hybrid formats where some or most classes are conducted online. Further, this includes programs which intend to use a fully online format for the first part of a semester, before switching to a hybrid or in-person format before the end of the semester. If a foreign student was enrolled in a course of study in the United States as of March 9, 2020, but subsequently left the country, that student likely remains eligible for a Visa since the March, 2020 guidance permitted a full online course of study from inside the United States or from abroad. However, if a school has announced its intention to operate fully online for the entire Fall term, students or prospective students who are currently outside of the US, and who were not enrolled in a course of study prior to March 9, 2020, will not be able to apply for or acquire an F or M Visa.

I would like to encourage any potential student with additional questions concerning an F or M Visa to contact my offices for a consultation appointment at their earliest convenience.