The Trump Administration has rescinded its directive that could have stripped international students of their visas, the New York Times reports.
The policy, which was announced last week, would have led international students to lose their visas if they only attend classes online. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many universities have been weighing a move to virtual teaching or a mix of in-person and online courses. The policy announcement was met with lawsuits, including from Harvard University and MIT and a number of US states.
The Times now reports that the judge overseeing the Harvard-MIT case announced the government and the universities reached an agreement in which the visa policy reverts to one announced in March. That guideline said international students with F-1 or M-1 visas could stay in the US even if their classes were moved online, according to Politico.
Ken Cuccinelli, the Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, said last week that the policy was aimed at spurring colleges to reopen, the Wall Street Journal reports, adding that his statement was then cited by Harvard and MIT in their suit.
"International students should never be used as political fodder to force colleges to open their doors," New York Attorney General Letitia James says, according to the Journal.