Federal ruling blocks student visa changes

On Sept. 14, a federal judge postponed the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) new Final Rule regarding international students’ F-1 visas, which was set to take effect Sept. 15. Part of the rule, concerning Curricular Practical Training (CPT) for international students, was enacted Sept. 15.

Federal Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV ruled that the Trump administration did not consider the possible negative effects or take public opinion into account when making the decision. He also said they also did not conclusively connect the issue to national security.

“The government’s contention that the rule is necessary to safeguard national security borders on the absurd. It is based almost entirely on a small handful of anecdotes, each of which involved incidents that the new rule would do nothing to prevent or even mitigate,” Saylor said in his memorandum.

This Final Rule marks the end of almost 50 years of allowing international students to stay in the United States for the entirety of their studies. Now, the ruling is that students must leave the country after four years, regardless of if their programs are completed. The average PhD program takes anywhere from four to seven years.

As well as limiting students to four years, students are also unable to switch majors or transfer schools as first-year undergraduate students or graduate students.

This rule would affect about 100 undergraduate CSB+SJU international students from the following 20 countries: The Bahamas, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Chile, Dominican Republic, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Mexico, The Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Uganda, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

“Due to the changes to the F-1 visas, it is difficult to create a post- graduation plan because there are so many unknown factors that directly affect your goals in life,” a CSB international student who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, said.

While the judge has postponed the F-1 visa changes, the changes to CPT have been enacted. This reinterpretation of CPT has made it more difficult for international students to have legal work authorization off campus, including internships or practical experience like student teaching or clinicals.

The process for CPT for 30 years has been that students register for a four-credit internship related to their major as a part of the established curriculum of the school. Students would apply through their school for CPT authorization, and the school would check out the internship.

Now, the DHS changed its interpretation of CPT, changing it so CPT can only be authorized when it is required for all students in the major. There are only five majors that require CPT for all students: Nursing, Education, Global Business, Exercise Health Science and Environmental Studies.

“If an international student wanted to do an internship, they could go to their home country and do an internship, but that’s not typically what an international student wants. They want a U.S. work experience,” said Malik Stewart, the Assistant Dean of Multicultural Services .

On an enrollment level, the new uncertainty surrounding VISAs and the changing climate for international students caused a national decrease in international students of about 25%. CSB+SJU’s first-year international student numbers increased significantly, opposing the trend.

“We have our recruitment pipelines well established in China and The Bahamas. Those are places where we have specific connections that bring in a certain number of students every year. That continues to be where the bulk of our students are coming from,” Stewart said.

While CSB+SJU “bucked the trend,” the trend is real, according to Stewart. He believes that these changes could cause detrimental effects to the local and national economy.

“Education is one of our biggest exports. An international student comes to the U.S.; they spend their money on tuition, which is us exporting education to that country. They’re still going to do all the economic activity that a student does. They’re still going to go to The Local Blend, and they’re going to go shopping; they’re an important part of the ecosystem of the community,” Stewart said. “If you eliminate 3% of our students, aside from losing some really cool people, you’re going to take out literally millions of dollars of economic activity in both the campus and the local community.”

Stewart is not the only one weary of the reasoning behind the rule. The lawsuit that caused the rule’s postponement was filed by eight organizations that primarily represent higher education; postponing the rule was just the initial step in the litigation.

A conference will be held on Oct. 2 regarding the status of the ruling.

“What benefit to the United States is it to choke off international education? We’re not any safer by not having international students; they are not the problem,” Stewart said.