Bill Seeking to Require School Accreditation for F-1 Visa Passes the House

The U.S. House of Representatives passed yesterday (August 1, 2012) by a voice vote a proposed bill which seeks to restrict the ability of certain schools, colleges and universities to sponsor students’ F-1 visas.    H.R. 3012 (bill tracker, text of bill) was introduced by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and seeks to amend the F-1 student visa program by restricting access to it by schools which are not accredited.

Details of the Proposed Bill

The bill is fairly simple — it amends the relevant section of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by adding a requirement that only institutions which are accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary of Education.   As a result, institutions which are not accredited would not be able to continue to be part of the F-1 program and their students will not be able to obtain and retain F-1 status.    There is a 3-year grace period after the (possible) passage of the bill.

Significance of H.R. 3120

Many F-1 students would not be affected by this bill as a vast majority of the F-1 sponsor institutions are already accredited (check your institution).   However, a limited number of F-1 students may be affected negatively if their institutions is not accredited and if their institutions is unable to pass the accreditation process which can often be fairly rigorous.

Conclusion

Please note that H.R. 3012 is not law yet — it was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives but it must be passed in an identical form by the U.S. Senate and then signed by the President.   Considering the limited Senate calendar and the upcoming election, it is possible that the Senate may not take up the bill for consideration for some time.  It is also possible that the bill will not be taken by the Senate by the end of this Congress and may have to be reintroduced (and passed again) in the next Congress after the election.

Our office will continue to monitor developments surrounding H.R. 3120 and provide updates to our clients and readers.   Please feel free to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to obtain developments on this and related topics.   If our office can be of any help, please feel free to contact us.