USDHS Guidance for Fall 2020 Continues for Spring 2021 – posted December 11, 2020

(posted as an ISO Update, and emailed to all MIT international students, on December 11, 2020)

While the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has not posted any official communication, a statement by a spokesperson for the USDHS Student and Exchange Visitor Program in an interview with a reporter indicates that the Fall 2020 enrollment guidance will continue for Spring 2021.  This statement has been verified by a higher education professional association and the MIT ISO has verified in outreach to USDHS.

The USDHS Guidance that has been verified is the following:

*Students enrolled at MIT and physically in the U.S. ON OR BEFORE March 9, 2020 may pursue unlimited fully online/remote subjects inside the U.S. in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021.

*Students arriving to the U.S. from abroad to begin F-1 status for their MIT program AFTER March 9, 2020 must be enrolled in, and attend, at least 24 units of coursework with in-person components in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021.  These are the same regulations that applied prior to COVID-19.

*Students who completed a program of study in F-1 study at another institution in Spring or Summer 2020, transferred their SEVIS Record/Form I-20 to MIT, and did NOT leave the U.S. between the end of the previous program and start of the MIT program in Fall 2020, are considered eligible to pursue unlimited fully online/remote subjects in the U.S. in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021.

With regards to the F-1 Five-Month Temporary Absence Rule, in our outreach with USDHS we have been unable to receive any clarification if the Five-Month Rule suspension is considered suspended for the Fall 2020 or Spring 2021, only that it was considered suspended for Spring 2020 and Summer 2020.  MIT, higher education professional associations, and colleges/universities across the country have been pushing USDHS to provide clarification on the 5-month rule as this issue has a significant impact on all of our international students inside and outside the U.S. 

We will update the MIT community if we are able to receive any official clarification or updates from USDHS.

Please see additional information about the F-1 Five-Month Temporary Absence Rule below and on the ISO website. 

To view the original MIT guidance concerning the Fall 2020 USDHS Guidance on International Students posted on July 29, 2020 is available here.