ICE Continues March 2020 Guidance for Nonimmigrant Students for 2021-22 Academic Year

SEVP issued a broadcast message noting it will extend the guidance issued in March 2020 for F and M students for the 2021-22 academic year. The guidance enables schools and students to engage in distance learning in excess of regulatory limits due to the public health concerns created by COVID-19.

The March 2020 guidance applies to nonimmigrant students who were actively enrolled at a U.S. school on March 9, 2020. Per the message: “In accordance with the March 2020 guidance, new or initial F and M students who were not previously enrolled in a program of study on March 9, 2020, will not be able to enter the United States as a nonimmigrant student for the 2021-22 academic year if their course of study is 100 percent online.”

Related Resources

• SEVP Issues Broadcast Message on COVID-19 and Potential Procedural Adaptations for F and M Students (3/9/20)
• ICE Releases COVID-19 Guidance for SEVP Stakeholders (3/13/20)
• ICE Provides Scenarios for SEVP-Certified Schools for Emergency Procedures (3/13/20)
• ICE Issues FAQs for SEVP Stakeholders About COVID-19 (4/26/21)
• Resource Center: 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)