Proposed Changes to F-1/J-1 Status "Duration of Status"

Hello GAIE,
 
Drew, your advocacy rep here!  I’m sure you’ve all heard the news at this point that DHS is considering replacing the “duration of status” (or “D/S”) that is normally given to all of those who hold F-1 and J-1 status with a time limit. Eliminating the duration of status would put students and scholars at the risk of accruing unlawful presence, and give them even more reason to not feel at ease with studying or researching in the United States.
 
While we expect NAFSA to have more advocacy down the road, a good first step would be the following: Please forward the message below from NAFSA's Vice President for Public Policy & Practice, Bonnie Bissonette, to your federal relations officer or government affairs professional on your campus. Let him or her know that you can be a resource on this duration of status issue.  
 
And per my previous email, don’t forget to sign up for NAFSA’s Advocacy Day!  Now more than ever, we need to give our congressional representatives concrete facts on these incredibly important issues impacting both our international students and scholars, and the educational missions of our universities.

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From: Bonnie Bissonette
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2018
To: Drew Webster 
Subject: Administration plans time limit for int'l student visas

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Dear Drew, 
As you may have heard, an alarming notice came out today from the U.S. Administration about regulatory changes proposed for the coming year. The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is developing a proposed rule that would fundamentally change the way students and scholars are admitted to the United States, by replacing the policy in place for decades of the duration of status (D/S) admission period with "a maximum period of authorized stay, and options for extensions, for each applicable visa category."

According to the description in the Fall 2018 Regulatory Agenda that was published on October 17, 2018, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has set a Fall 2019 target date for publishing a proposed rule that solicits public comment, and so we have time to advocate against it. If finalized, it would have a significantly damaging effect on students, scholars, our institutions, and our communities. The rationale for this proposed change is based on inaccurate DHS statistics that exaggerate the number of international students who overstay their visas. At a time when the United States risks losing ground in a global competition for talent, a change of this magnitude would create uncertainty for students and scholars about whether they would be able to complete their programs in the United States, subject students to inadvertently accruing unlawful presence, and add significant unnecessary burdens on USCIS and higher education institutions, all with no added security benefit.

WE MUST UNITE IN OPPOSING THIS CHANGE!

In response, NAFSA is actively mobilizing to engage our allies on the Hill and in the higher education, business, foreign policy, and immigration communities to oppose this proposed change. As advocates, you can help!

We will be in touch through Connecting Our World with updates and will organize a conference call in the coming weeks to discuss how this will impact our field and how you can help defeat this proposal. Be sure you are signed up for action alerts at www.connectingourworld.org and add [email protected] to your contacts to avoid our messages getting trapped in your spam folder.

Also, NAFSA's regulatory practice team is monitoring the issue closely and will notify members through www.nafsa.org/reginfo when more information is available about this and other proposed changes.

Thank you,
Bonnie Bissonette, Ed.D.
Director, Education Abroad and International Safety
Center for Global Education Initiatives
University of Maryland, Baltimore
and Vice President for Public Policy and Practice, Board of Directors (2017-2019)
NAFSA: Association of International Educators


NAFSA: Association of International Educators
Attn: Connecting Our World
1307 New York Ave NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20005