Dear Harvard College Students,

I am writing to share with you a message that was sent to our first-year international students earlier today. I am sorry to be the bearer of such deeply disappointing news.

We are committed to doing everything we can to help support every single one of our students, and I am grateful to the Office of Undergraduate Education who is working closely with our students to help them work through this challenging situation.

Semper veritas,

Rakesh Khurana
Danoff Dean of Harvard College

Dear Harvard College Students,

I am writing today to share the difficult news that our first-year international students will not be able to come to campus this fall. Despite the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division's decision to withdraw the directive that would have prohibited currently enrolled international students in the United States from taking an all-online course load this fall, this reversal does not apply to our newly admitted international students who require F-1 sponsorship. At present, any incoming student who received a Form I-20 to begin their studies this fall will be unable to enter the U.S. in F-1 status as course instruction is fully remote.

We abhor any policies that seek to force us to choose between our community's health and the education of our international students. The University is working closely with members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation to extend the online exemption to newly admitted students and ensure that this flexibility remains in place for the duration of the public health emergency. Unfortunately, we don’t anticipate any change to the policy in time for the fall semester.

Some of you have asked if it would be possible to offer courses in person or through a hybrid model that includes some in-person instruction as a way to enable first-year international students to obtain an F-1 Visa and join us on campus. We explored this option and concluded that given the unpredictability of current government policies and the uncertainty of the COVID-19 crisis, this path could jeopardize both our international students’ ability to enter or leave the United States in the future and our community’s health. We also concluded that we must protect first-year students from the possibility of coming to the United States only to be asked to return to their home country when local travel restrictions might make that impossible.

Given this development, our first-year international students should consider the following two options: You can start your Harvard experience from home, taking courses remotely. We have worked hard to create a robust program for all of our students to learn online, and we hope you will consider this option. Alternatively, you may defer the start of your time at Harvard. We have extended the deadline for deferral for first-year international students to July 31 to give you time to make this decision. If you choose to defer, Harvard will guarantee all international, first-year students housing when we are able to welcome you to campus safely.

I recognize that our first-year international students now face a stressful and difficult decision. The Office of International Education (OIE) will be reaching out to you shortly after you receive this message to discuss your options. They will also be able to connect you to advisers to address technology needs for taking remote courses. In the meantime, if you would find it useful to connect with an adviser to discuss your options right away, I encourage you to contact internationalstudents@fas.harvard.edu.

I wish I could be writing to you with better news today, but I am hopeful that brighter days are ahead.

Semper veritas,

Rakesh Khurana
Danoff Dean of Harvard College