White House Reverses Ban on International Students Taking Online University Classes

Facing eight federal lawsuits and opposition from hundreds of universities, the Trump administration on Tuesday rescinded a rule that would have required international students to transfer or leave the country if their schools held classes entirely online because of the pandemic.

The decision was announced at the start of a hearing in a federal lawsuit in Boston brought by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs said federal immigration authorities agreed to pull the July 6 directive and "return to the status quo."

The White House has rescinded an order that would have revoked visas from foreign students attending college in the U.S. if those institutions opted to go online-only amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The initial directive, issued July 6, was met with a July 8 lawsuit filed by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which 200 other institutions also publicly backed. Several state attorneys general filed their own lawsuits against the Trump administration over the policy.