Bangladesh, July 15 -- The Trump administration on Tuesday cancelled a rule that would have required international students to transfer or leave the country if their schools held classes entirely online because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The administration took the decision after facing eight federal lawsuits and opposition from hundreds of universities.

The decision was announced at the start of a hearing in a federal lawsuit in Boston brought by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs said federal immigration authorities agreed to pull the July 6 directive and "return to the status quo."

The announcement brings relief to thousands of foreign students who had been at ri...