The Siebel Institute of Technology and World Brewing Academy, which has been in Chicago for 157 years, is relocating to Montreal next year. Trump’s proposed changes to student visa policy have been listed as factors for the move.

The United States’ first brewing school is moving from Chicago to Montreal, with the owners citing challenges with operational costs and student visa processing.

The move was announced Thursday in a Facebook post by the Siebel Institute of Technology and World Brewing Academy, 322 S. Green St. The trade college, which specializes in brewing but also offers a wide range of courses from baking to engineering, will move on Jan. 1 to Montreal, Quebec, near the site of Molson’s Original Brewery, the oldest brewery in North America.

The institute was founded in 1868 by German chemist John Ewald Siebel and has been under Siebel’s name since 1872, making it the first college of its kind in the United States and the Americas. The institute was acquired by Montreal-based Lallemand Inc. in 2000 and has since moved locations twice, most recently moving into the Green Street space in 2019.

It made sense for Siebel to relocate to Montreal after the school experienced financial difficulties during the pandemic and had to lean on Lallemand for support, according to the Facebook post. But new student visa policies in the United States were the final nails in the coffin for Siebel’s Chicago location, said John Hannafan, the college’s director of education.

“Maintaining the quality of education while keeping Siebel Institute and World Brewing Academy offerings affordable was key for us,” he said in the announcement. “Recent regulatory changes in the U.S. have made it much more challenging for many of our international students, who have become the majority of our student body, to attend classes in person. This relocation of North America classroom operations to Montreal allows us to pivot without sacrificing the student experience.”

In August, the Trump administration proposed changes to student visas, or F-1 visas, with the stated intent “to end foreign student visa abuse.” New restrictions will limit student visa durations to the exact length of time it takes to complete a college program, with a maximum of four years.

Those new restrictions do not pass muster for schools like Siebel that have significant foreign populations in the faculty and student bodies.

The move was “fully supported by Siebel’s longstanding partners and stakeholders,” according to the announcement.

The Montreal opening will co-launch with Lallemand’s Baking Academy and Application Technology Training Facility, according to the post.

“Lallemand has proudly owned the Siebel Institute since 2000 and has consistently supported its autonomy as the center for world-class brewing education,” said Lallemand CEO Antoine Chagnon. “We are excited about the opportunities this relocation brings for the future of brewing education.” (Block Club Chicago)