Trump bans entry of certain categories of students from China

MUMBAI: The latest move by US President Donald Trump, to bar entry of certain categories of Chinese students, is likely to escalate the tension already existing between the two countries. However, undergraduate students from China have been exempted.
In his proclamation, announced on Friday, POTUS stated that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is engaged in a wide‑ranging and heavily resourced campaign to acquire sensitive US technologies and intellectual property, in part to bolster the modernization and capability of its military.
Adding that the PRC authorities use some Chinese students, mostly post‑graduate students and post-doctorate researchers, to operate as non-traditional collectors of intellectual property, he stated that entry of certain Chinese students to study or conduct research in the US would be detrimental to the interest of the country.
The proclamation prohibits Chinese nationals from using F or J non-immigrant visas to enter the US to engage in graduate study or research if they have been associated with entities that support the Chinese government’s military-civil fusion (MCF) strategy.
As regards the Chinese students currently in the US, the proclamation directs the US State Department to consider whether it should cancel the visas of Chinese students holding a F or J visa, who would otherwise have been barred from entering the US.
According to the latest Open Doors survey, currently there are around 3.69 lakh students from China, studying in the US. India follows next with 2.02 lakh students.
While Universities that TOI reached out to, said they were yet to analyse the ramifications of the proclamation, social media has imploded with comments from those in the educational field.
“Disappointing! How exactly do they intend to identify these students who are or have been associated with the Chinese army? And who will do this vetting?” posts a senior faculty member from a prominent US University.
The line of suspicion is not drawn on undergraduate students, as the proclamation exempts Chinese nationals from entering to engage in undergraduate studies. It also exempts those studying or researching in fields that do not contribute to the MCF strategy, as determined by the US Department of Homeland Security, Department of State and Department of Justice.
Under the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, international students can work in the US for a period of one-year post completion of their degree course. Students from the science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) stream can opt for a two-year extension, which provides them a cumulative three-year work experience under the OPT program.
According to data maintained by ‘Sevis’ the web-based system utilised by DHS for maintain information on international students, 70,521 Indian students had been authorised to participate in STEM-OPT program in fiscal 2018. Only 25,853 Chinese students had this authorisation.
Incidentally, recently Senators Tom Cotton and Marsha Blackburn had put forth a ‘Secure Campus Act’ to prohibit Chinese students from receiving visas to study STEM subjects at the graduate and undergraduate level.
Responding to the proclamation, Senator Marsha Blackburn has now tweeted, “China can’t compete fairly with America, so they send spies posing as students to our universities to steal our IP & Technology. Thank you POTUS for taking action and blocking Chinese military-linked nationals from covertly entering the US using student visas.”
Charles H Kuck, immigration attorney tweeted, “Trump just limited Chinese students from studying in the US to only undergraduates and only under certain conditions. It will make admitting these students difficult and will escalate the cold war Trump has started with China.”
The possibility of litigation over this ban, is not ruled out, state immigration attorneys.
US green card holders (lawful permanent residents), spouse of US citizens and green card holders, foreign nationals in US armed forces (and their family) and foreign nationals whose entry would help promote important US law enforcement objectives or is in US national interest are not covered by the ban.