October 27, 2020
DHS Proposed Rule Threatens
Students’ Ability to Earn Degrees, Harms State Economies
Carson City, NV – Today, Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced he joined 22 state attorneys
general in opposing efforts by the Trump administration to severely restrict
the amount of time international students are allowed to stay in the United
States. In a comment letter submitted to the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS), the coalition opposes a proposed rule that would set fixed time limits
of two or four years for student visas, upending longstanding policy that
allows students to stay as long as they need to earn their degrees if they continue
to meet certain requirements. The coalition urges DHS to abandon the proposed
rule, arguing that it would harm international students, limit educational
opportunities for American students, damage state economies, create unnecessary
red tape, and violate federal law.
“The Trump Administration has shown little to no concern for the
health and safety of students, especially during the pandemic,” said AG Ford. “International students
make up a critical part of our higher education institutions here in Nevada.
Now the Trump Administration wants to upend immigration rules that have been in
place for over 40 years and harm Nevada’s higher education system. As your attorney
general, I believe the job of my office is justice, and fighting the Trump
Administration’s attacks on our students, colleges, and universities is no
exception.”
Since
1979, the United States has used what is known as a “Duration of Status” framework
for students on F visas. Currently, international students may stay in the U.S.
if they remain enrolled at an accredited institution and meet requirements for
progress towards a degree. “Duration of Status” gives the more than one million
international students studying at American institutions certainty that they
will be able to stay in the country long enough to successfully earn
undergraduate or graduate degrees. It also provides significant savings to
taxpayers by eliminating the need for the federal government to process
hundreds of thousands of applications for student visa extensions annually.
In
September 2020, DHS proposed a new rule that would end “Duration of Status” and
drastically limit the amount of time international students are permitted to
stay in the U.S. Under the proposed rule, initial visas would be valid for a
maximum of four years. Many students would be limited to two-year initial visa
terms, including because they are from countries designated as “state
sponsors of terrorism”; from countries that have visa overstay rates of more
than 10% according to DHS data; or they attend an educational institution that
does not participate in the unrelated E-Verify employment eligibility
verification program. After the initial visa term, foreign students would be
required to obtain documentation from their institutions and apply for a visa
extension, which would be granted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) only when “additional time needed is due to a compelling academic reason,
documented medical illness or medical condition, or circumstance that was
beyond the student’s control.” These new requirements would create uncertainty
in international students’ ability to complete their courses of study such that
many might elect to never start in this country, decreasing enrollment and
diversity at many educational institutions.
The proposed DHS rule is the latest in a series of unlawful attempts by the
Trump administration to keep citizens of other countries out of the United States.
In the comment letter, the coalition urges DHS to abandon the proposed rule
because it would:
- Cause sharp declines in
international student enrollment: This rule would apply to both undergraduate and
graduate students, despite the fact that only 41% of all full-time college
students earn a bachelor’s degree in four years, and the median time
needed to complete a doctoral degree is more than six years across the
board, ranging from 6.3 years in earth sciences to 11.9 years in
education. In the 2018 calendar year, 53.2% of all international
students—more than 700,000 in total—were enrolled in programs with a
minimum duration of four years. If students were subject to two-year or
four-year limitations, they would have no assurance that they would be able
to complete their programs. Given the risk involved, it is more than
likely that significant numbers of students will not apply for those
programs.
- Negatively impact
opportunities for American students: A decline in international student enrollment would
cause significant financial losses for American universities, particularly
state universities, where international students often pay higher
out-of-state tuition rates. Those higher rates contribute to institutions’
overall budgets and enhance public universities’ ability to serve
lower-income in-state students by reducing the amount of tuition they are
required to pay. Additionally, international students contribute to
diverse campus communities and help American students build intercultural
communication and problem-solving skills. If international students are
forced to pursue their studies outside of the U.S., American students will
be less prepared and less able to compete in an increasingly globalized
economy.
- Harm state
economies: The proposed rule poses a
significant risk to the health of state economies, particularly during a
time of decreased tax revenue and high unemployment. According to the U.S.
Department of Commerce, international students contributed $44.7 billion
to the U.S. economy in 2018 and, according the National Association of
Foreign Student Advisors, supported 458,290 American jobs. A significant
decline in international enrollment when the economy is already struggling
would result in additional job losses and declines in much-needed tax
revenue.
- Create unnecessary
bureaucratic red tape: If this rule is adopted, DHS would be deluged with hundreds
of thousands of new visa extension applications—an estimated 364,060 by
2024—when it already cannot process applications in a timely fashion. In
fact, the “Duration of Status” framework was created because continually
processing applications for visa extensions was placing a major burden on
the federal government and wasting taxpayer dollars. The new rule would
create the exact issues the government sought to address when it adopted
the current system.
The
attorneys general also argue that the Acting DHS Secretary lacks legal
authority to implement rules and that the proposed rule conflicts with existing
federal statutes and regulations.
A
copy of the comment letter is available at: https://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/files/2020-10/DHS-Comment-Student-Visas.pdf
The
District of Columbia and Massachusetts led the letter and in addition to
Nevada, are joined by state Attorneys General of California, Colorado,
Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Michigan,
Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia,
Washington and Wisconsin.
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