Int. students may need to leave US if classes are 100% Remote
This is just another step in a broad-based program to make sure as few highly qualified people as possible can come to learn and work in the US.(1) F1 visas have been effectively banned in much of the world since COVID started - the required interviews could only be done in now-closed centers.
(2) H1B, L1, H4, and J1 visas have been suspended until the end of the year, leaving OPT transfers, H1B lottery winners (already a 1 in 3 shot), H1B transfers, and others in the lurch.
(3) RFEs (a first step to visa denials) have been on a steep rise.As a result, not only are we kicking people out, but international applications to US schools have absolutely collapsed; fewer people are even trying. The US is actively abandoning its goal of being the land of opportunity, and it makes me sad.