Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have moved court against the United States government’s new visa rules which mandated that no visas would be issued to students enrolled in courses that are fully online in the fall semester.

The Donald Trump administration announced its new visa rule on Monday, triggering panic among foreign students and confusion at universities.

In response, the prestigious Harvard and MIT have sought temporary restraining order on the new visa rules. Harvard and MIT say that the July 6 order will have a severe and immediate impact on students.

"On July 8, 2020, Harvard and MIT filed pleadings in the U.S. District Court in Boston seeking a temporary restraining order prohibiting enforcement of the July 6 directive," Harvard University wrote in a post on its website.

In their plea the Ivy League institutions said: "Unless this Court intervenes, these students will be required to make precipitous arrangements to return to their home countries amid a worldwide pandemic that has caused nations to close their borders and has considerably limited international travel options.

"They must abandon housing arrangements they have made, breach leases, pay exorbitant air fares, and risk COVID-19 infection on transoceanic flights. And if their departure is not timely, they risk detention by immigration authorities and formal removal from the country that may bar their return to the United States for ten years."

The government’s visa decision has meant that universities are being forced to re-open in-person classes despite the raging coronavirus pandemic to secure their students’ stay in the US.

US Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement has modified rules for foreign students.

Following the July 6 announcement, Harvard University had said it would do its best to ensure that students can continue their studies without the fear of being forced to leave the country.

The Trump administration’s move has widely been seen as an attempt to assuage his support base with anti-immigrant rhetoric as the US struggles to contain the coronavirus pandemic and widespread Black Lives Matter protest.

Trump is up for re-election later this year and will face the presumptive Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden. The US goes to presidential polls on November 3.

Also read: The big dilemma for Indian students — is an undergraduate college education in the US worth it?

First Published:Jul 8, 2020 6:28 PM IST