The Trump administration has rescinded a rule that would have required international students to transfer schools or leave the country if their colleges hold classes entirely online next semester because of the coronavirus pandemic.

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the decision as a court hearing was getting under way on a challenge to the rule by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

US District Judge Allison Burroughs in Massachusetts said the US government and the two universities that sued over the measure had come to a settlement that would roll back the new rules and restore the previous status quo.

Burroughs was nominated to the court in 2014 by former President Barack Obama.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA