Over 65 American universities have opposed US President Donald Trump's visa rule on international students claiming that the new development would have a negative impact on the country's educational system.
The new rule spells out the consequences if a student with a foreigners' visa overstays their visa. The visa holder will enter a period of unlawful presence and if they continue in the period for six months, they are liable to return to the country of origin and will not be allowed into the US for three years.
The period of unlawful presence will begin one day after the visa expires or one day after the individual's course is completed.
The previous visa rule said that the individual entered the period of unlawful presence only after the government declared that the visa is expired and 'out of status', reports PTI.
The 65 universities which signed a brief requesting for an early injunction include top-notch Ivy League institutes like Harvard and Yale and Princeton. Along with the colleges, a higher education system Board, a member of the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration also signed the brief.
They said, "The new rule will harm international students and scholars, as well as institutions which host them."
The National Association of Foreign Student Advisors said that international students contributed to $39 billion of the US economy between 2017 and 2018.
The brief then said, "A ban, in turn, could have devastating immediate consequences for a student's course of study and would outright bar the student from reentering the US for any reason — even for business purposes, or to see a child — for a period of a year."
A visa might fall into the 'out of status' category for many reasons which may not be under the students' control including a clerical or technical error. The report goes on to say that the out-of-status category will not be discovered till the individual applies for visa renewal or applies for another visa such as H1-B.
"As of today international students continue to make this country the global leader in higher education, but the gap is closing. The United States' 'market share has dropped from 23 per cent in 2000 to 16 per cent in 2012' with China, Canada, Britain, and Russia all vying for the same pool of talent," the brief said.
