On July 6th, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced new guidance regarding F-1 and M-1 student visas, modifying exemptions put in place this spring that had allowed students to take classes online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the new policy, international students who attend schools that are operating entirely online may not be allowed to remain in the United States.
On July 8th, the University filed a lawsuit to protect the visa status for international students by seeking to prevent the July 6th ICE directive, which would strip students of their visa status, from going into effect. We join President Bacow in expressing our deep concern over these proposed changes and our support for students and other members of the Harvard community. We are currently working in partnership with the Harvard International Office and the University to address this issue.
If you are an international student at Harvard who has concerns about your safety if you return to your home country, please contact the Harvard Representation Initiative at hri@law.harvard.edu or call 617-495-6648 to schedule an appointment with our attorney, Jason Corral.