On July 6, 2020, ICE issued an order that requires F-1 visa (non-immigrant) students at hybrid-Fall-plan institutions to take at least one in-person class to remain in the U.S. ICE may deport or deny entry to students who don’t take at least one in-person class.

University of South Florida is home to 4,620 international students (as of 2019), making up around 9% of their student body. As University of South Florida’s current plan for Fall 2020 outlines that, “the majority of classes will be administered through online and hybrid formats while select classes may remain face to face with rotational attendance and social distancing guidelines,” the University of South Florida would fall under the hybrid model. This hybrid model qualifies for exemption 3 of the ICE Student and Exchange Visitor Program regulations. 

“Nonimmigrant F-1 students attending schools adopting a hybrid model—that is, a mixture of online and in person classes—will be allowed to take more than one class or three credit hours online. These schools must certify to SEVP, through the Form I-20, “Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status,” certifying that the program is not entirely online, that the student is not taking an entirely online course load this semester, and that the student is taking the minimum number of online classes required to make normal progress in their degree program. The above exemptions do not apply to F-1 students in English language training programs or M-1 students pursing [sic] vocational degrees, who are not permitted to enroll in any online courses.”

International students who are forced to return to their home country face risks while traveling as well as barriers to learning -- time zone differences, internet content restrictions, unreliable Wi-Fi, and political instability -- that they otherwise may not face in the U.S. 

We, the USF community, DEMAND that a one-credit in-person class, available only to international students, is created. We ask that the class be graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis, and that attendance is not required. International students that enroll in this class will be eligible to stay in the U.S. in these uncertain times. We must ensure that we do all that we can to create stability for all members of the University of South Florida family. Creating this one-credit in-person class gives international students the option to remain in the U.S.

We have a moral duty to protect our students from both the pandemic itself and from unjust deportation in the midst of this pandemic. 

CREDIT TO: MAYA CANADY - see and sign her Emory Petition below:

https://www.change.org/p/emory-university-emory-create-a-1-credit-in-person-class-option-for-int-l-students-to-stay-in-the-us?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=ac532660-d66c-11e4-9d20-9b15a4b551d9

CREDIT TO: ZACH CORSUN - see and sign his UMICH Petition below:

https://www.change.org/p/university-of-michigan-uofmichigan-create-a-1-credit-in-person-class-option-for-int-l-students-to-stay-in-the-us?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=968e0210-5633-11e8-a354-55e67228a065

CREDIT TO: MICHAEL VALENTE - see and sign his MSU Petition below:

https://www.change.org/p/michigan-state-university-msu-create-a-1-credit-in-person-class-option-for-int-l-students-to-stay-in-the-us?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=62b94f50-1093-11ea-af4b-35dcadfcbf23

Links to Sources Used:

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/sevp-modifies-temporary-exemptions-nonimmigrant-students-taking-online-courses-during​

https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2020/07/07/new-immigration-rules-could-push-many-international-students-to-leave-us/?outputType=amp​

https://www.usf.edu/coronavirus/documents/reopening-plan.pdf