65 US Universities Oppose Trump govt’s Visa Policy Changes for Foreign Students

65 top US universities, including Harvard and MIT, opposed the Trump administration in a court against its new stringent visa policy for foreign students.

It warned that the new ‘backdating’ rule will have a dangerous effect on America’s higher education system.

The new policy announced by the Trump administration in August places restrictions on overstaying a visa.

Under longstanding immigration policies, when an individual is no longer authorised to remain in the US, when a visa expires, a period of ‘unlawful presence’ begins.

After six months of unlawful presence, an individual can be forced to return to their country of origin and subject to a three-year bar from the US.

Prior to the August policy change, individuals only began to accrue unlawful presence the day after the government issued an official determination that the visa holder was “out of status“.

With the new rules, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can set retroactive start dates for unlawful presence that begins the day after an individual’s degree programme is complete or the day after a person’s visa expires.