After H1B visa holders, it is the international that will have to go through Donald Trump’s harsh policies. The US government issued a draft on May 18, 2018, related to the calculation of visa overstay by F1 visa holders or international students. If the draft is passed, the policy will come into force on August 9, 2018. According to the draft, stay beyond a student's visa tenure will be computed if a student is unable to maintain immigration status.
Immigration status is unmaintained from the day the international student stops pursuing his course and engage in the unauthorized activity. Under current rules, students are given 60 days after the end of their F1 visa to complete the course or leave the United States. When the new rule comes into action, the number of unlawful days will be counted. Depending on the number of unlawful days, the international student will be barred from staying the US or even enter again or obtaining the US green card. For instance, if a student stays for 180 unlawful days, he will be banned from entering the United States for three to 10 years.
Staying back illegally for more than a year can lead to the permanent ban from entering the country forever. Fragomen, immigration global firm, said that the draft will create obstacles for students who’ve fallen out of their immigration status and wanted to renew their visa. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services issued the policy memorandum and said that if there has been an overstay, an officer will look into the student’s immigration history including the contained Student and Exchange Visitor Information system information.
Indian students
Indian students make up the second largest group who overstay their visa period. 98,970 Indians students were supposed to leave the United States in 2016. However, 4,575 students stayed back without renewing their visa. China represents the largest group of student overstayers.
