Foreign students could be forced to leave U.S. if colleges move online

Driving the news: Foreign students who are already in the U.S. or those hoping to come to the country on a student visa will not be allowed to take a full course load online, according to ICE.

• Students can transfer to schools offering in-person options or else leave the U.S. and take online classes in their home country. Otherwise, they could face deportation.
• "[S]chools like Harvard wouldn't lose tuition from students forced to leave the United States. Students could 'attend' classes virtually—in their home country," Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy counsel at the American Immigration Council, tweeted. "But if the choice is stay at Harvard or leave the US... many will choose to transfer."

Between the lines: Foreigners on student visas are typically not permitted to take more than one online course while in the U.S. ICE, which sets rules for the F and M student visa programs, had made temporary exemptions for the spring and summer because of the coronavirus.

What to watch: Foreign students will be allowed to take more than one online course in the U.S. if their school offers a mix of online and in-person courses this fall. Those universities will have to prove foreign students are not taking all of their classes online.