The AAMC joined the Association of American Universities in an amicus brief filed on Aug. 27 (PDF) supporting a challenge to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) final rule eliminating duration of status for student and physician trainee visa-holders. The brief was submitted in support of the plaintiffs in Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration v. DHS, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
For nearly half a century, international students, research scholars, and physicians have been admitted to the United States for “duration of status” — a framework that has permitted such individuals to remain in the country for as long as they are pursuing their authorized programs. The final rule upends this long-standing regulatory framework, replacing duration of status with a fixed admission period of no more than four years and conditioning any additional time on discretionary approvals by an already backlogged U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The DHS adopted these sweeping changes in the face of nearly 22,000 comments from the public, including many from AAMC-member institutions and constituents.
The brief highlights decades-long reliance on the duration of status framework among higher education institutions and academic health centers and catalogs the risks to cutting-edge research and patient care that could result from the final rule’s implementation. The brief argues that the DHS failed to meaningfully engage with the serious and well-documented concerns reflected in the public comments, resulting in a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The brief urges the court to issue a stay of the final rule.
A hearing on plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for Sept. 3.