Video Summary:

• On July 6, the Department of Homeland Security withdrew a proposed rule put forward by the Trump Administration in 2020 to eliminate the current “duration of status” guidelines that allow international students who study in the US on certain visas — such as F and J visas — to remain in the country for as long as they maintain compliance with their terms of admission.
   
• In response to the notice of the rule last year, APS leadership submitted a comment in opposition to the proposed rule change, and APS Government Affairs enabled members to contribute original comments in opposition, as well. This withdrawal is a testament to the advocacy of almost 1,600 APS members, who were responsible for approximately 1 out of every 20 comments submitted concerning the proposed rule in 2020.
   
• Last month, 14 advocates in the Physicist Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction met with 12 congressional offices in an effort to garner support for the No First Use Act as the Biden Administration begins its nuclear posture review. The review provides an opportunity to build support for no-first-use policies that would ensure that US nuclear weapons are meant only for deterrence.
   
• Both the NSF for the Future Act and the DOE for the Future Act successfully passed through the House and are now waiting to go to conference with the Senate. For more on APS’s support of the NSF for the Future Act, check out the op-ed published by APS President Jim Gates and Dr. Gerald Blazey in The Hill.