Advocacy

AIRC advocates for its members and for the IEM field through a variety of activities.

Activities include

• communicating with government and legislative leaders,
• speaking out on issues through the media, and
• issuing Advocacy Action Alerts to inform and urge members to act.

AIRC Infomation on Duration of Status proposed rule change: The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed a rule change that would significantly affect international students' rights and freedoms while studying in the US. It is important to keep a few things in mind:

1. This rule is in the proposal stage and has not yet taken effect. 
2. DHS is currently accepting feedback through the public comments process, which has the ability to shape or amend the final outcomes. As of today, over 8,300 comments have already been submitted.
3. The public comment period runs through 11:59 pm EDT Monday September 29. 

AIRC has submitted a comment opposing the proposed rule change. We encourage our US-based members to consider submitting your own comments before the September 29 deadline, either on behalf of your organization or in your personal capacity. 

AIRC's Position and Actions

AIRC firmly opposes the proposed rule change as unnecessary, intrusive, and harmful. It would encroach on institutions' academic freedom, hinder students' ability to optimize their US experience, and burden both institutions and students with massive new costs and bureaucratic hurdles. In our comment, AIRC recommended that DHS abandon the entire proposed rule change. You can read the complete comment here.

Further, AIRC signed onto a letter led by NAFSA: Association of International Educators and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), requesting an extension of the public comment period to 60 days instead of the original 30 days.

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AIRC’s advocacy efforts have benefitted the IEM field and served AIRC members. For example, in 2021 AIRC played a leading role in modifying the harmful impacts of the THRIVE Act. In 2022, AIRC issued its recommendations for improving international student educational avenues in the United States.  Please read more below to learn more about this initiative.

As a member of the Alliance for International Exchange and an Advisory Council member of the US for Success Coalition, we are positioned to collaborate with NAFSA, EnglishUSA, AACRAO, and others to push for our priorities in a strong and unified manner. The AIRC Advocacy Committee facilitates member involvement in our advocacy efforts.

AIRC’s Recommendations for Advancing International Student Recruitment and Enrollment in the United States

International students today may choose from a wide array of non-credit and credit-bearing experiences and combine multiple experiences to advance their academic and career goals in a personalized way that works well for them. Students are looking for accessibility, value, relevance, and flexibility in their educational avenues, including in application processes, admissions, enrollment, course selection, learning modality, credit articulation, transfer, and study abroad.

International student mobility should refer to a movement both to and within the through a variety of entry and transition points. This updated understanding will help not only to formally recognize this dynamic process, but also will position the U.S. to compete effectively in recruiting and enrolling international students.

The U.S. needs to adopt an updated understanding of international student mobility to accurately describe the expansive educational avenues navigated by today’s international student. 

AIRC adopted the following recommendations:

RECOMMENDATION 1

PROMOTE THE MANY AND DIVERSE U.S. EDUCATIONAL ENTRY POINTS TO EXPAND ACCESS TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENT MOBILITY

RECOMMENDATION 2

FACILITATE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN ENTRY POINTS TO SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL STUDENT MOBILITY