For Immediate Release

Washington  - The Senate voted last night to pass the REMOTE Act (H.R. 5545), which corrects language in the Roe-Isakson and THRIVE Acts that essentially banned the use of incentive-based compensation for international student recruitment. The House passed the REMOTE Act on December 8, so the bill now moves to the president’s desk for signature. The following is a statement by Dr. Esther D. Brimmer, Executive Director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

“The REMOTE Act restores the ability of U.S. higher education institutions to both serve military veterans and recruit international students utilizing incentive-based compensation agreements. At a time when U.S. international student enrollment is already on the decline and other countries are making gains in attracting global talent, the U.S. can hardly afford to limit the tools available to higher education institutions for recruiting international students. 

“We thank our many advocates and coalition partners for joining us in this effort and commend the House and the Senate for taking action to ensure that U.S. colleges and universities can compete for international student talent on equal footing with its global competitors and without detriment to American veterans.”

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About NAFSA: Serving more than 10,000 members and international educators worldwide, NAFSA: Association of International Educators is the largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange. Visit us at www.nafsa.org/press. To learn more about our advocacy efforts on behalf of international education, visit www.nafsa.org/takeaction. Resources to guide our members on these issues can be found at www.nafsa.org/reginfo.