65 varsities contest Trump visa changes

Washington, December 24 

As many as 65 top US universities, including Harvard and MIT, have challenged the Trump administration in a court against its new stringent visa policy for foreign students, warning that the new “backdating” rule will have a detrimental effect on America’s higher education system.

The new policy announced by the Trump administration in August places restrictions on overstaying a visa. Under longstanding immigration policies, when an individual is no longer authorised to remain in the US — such as when a visa expires — a period of “unlawful presence” begins. After six months of unlawful presence, an individual can be forced to return to their country of origin and subject to a three-year bar from the US.

Prior to the August policy change, individuals only began to accrue unlawful presence the day after the government issued an official determination that the visa holder was “out of status”. — PTI