US universities issue travel advisory for their international students as well as staff

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Washington: Amid fears that his administration may implement travel restrictions, a number of US colleges have issued travel advisories for their foreign employees and students, advising them to return to the US prior to President-elect Donald Trump‘s inauguration in January of next year. Trump has said that on his first day as the 47th President of the United States, he would sign a number of executive orders pertaining to immigration and the economy. He will take the oath of office on January 20.

Several prestigious US colleges are issuing travel recommendations for their teachers and foreign students who could be traveling abroad during Trump’s inauguration, amid worries about the delays created by travel restrictions during his first term as president.

China and India accounted for more than half (54 percent) of all overseas students studying in the US, according to statistics from the Institute of overseas education, the US Department of State, and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

However, data from the “Open Doors 2024 Report on International Educational Exchange” shows that, for the first time since 2009, India overtook China as the country of origin with 331,602 international students studying in the United States in 2023–2024, a 23% increase from the previous year.

Even with a 4% drop to 277,398 students, China remained the second most popular country of origin. With 87,551 undergraduates and 5,517 non-degree students sent, it continued to be the top sending nation.

In a post after the presidential election, David Elwell, associate dean and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) International Students Office, stated that “when there is a change in administration on the federal level, there can be changes in policies, regulations, and legislation that impact higher education as well as immigration and visa status matters.”

Elwell reminded students that Trump’s recent executive orders might affect travel and visa processing, so they should review their plans for the forthcoming Christmas break.

Election changes also affect the number of employees at US embassies and consulates overseas, which may affect the time it takes to process entrance visas.

In order to return to the US while still enrolled as students, students who would need to apply for a new entrance visa at the US Embassy or Consulate overseas should consider the likelihood of lengthy processing timeframes and have a contingency plan in case they have to leave the country and wait for a new entry visa to be granted. Students’ ability to return to the US on schedule may be impacted by any processing delays, Elwell said.

If members of the University of Massachusetts’ “international community,including all international students, scholars, faculty, and staff under UMass immigration sponsorship, intend to travel abroad over the winter holiday break, the Office of Global Affairs strongly advises them to return to the United States prior to the presidential inauguration.

The university added that “given that a new presidential administration can enact new policies on their first day in office (January 20) and based on previous experience with travel bans that were enacted in the first Trump administration in 2017,” the Office of Global Affairs is issuing this advisory out of a sense of caution to hopefully prevent any potential travel disruption to members of our international community. However, UMass clarified that this was neither a requirement or mandate from UMass nor based on any current US government policy or recommendation.

“We are unable to make assumptions about the specific nations or areas of the world that might or might not be impacted, or what a travel ban might look like if it is implemented.” According to a report from the Wesleyan institution’s undergraduate newspaper, The Wesleyan Argus, the institution has been “evaluating the potential future impacts” of the Trump administration on undocumented and foreign students.

“A lot of uncertainty surrounds the potential changes to U.S. immigration policy that the Trump administration may implement starting on January 20, 2025.” Wesleyan’s Office of International Student Affairs (OISA) has expressed “concern about sweeping policy changes” that may be put into effect shortly after Trump’s inauguration, the article said.

According to the Wesleyan Argus report, an email sent on November 18 to international students studying under the F-1 visa stated, “The safest way to avoid difficulties re-entering the country is to be physically present in the US on January 19 and the days thereafter of the spring semester, given the presidential inauguration taking place on Monday, January 20, 2025, and uncertainties surrounding President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for immigration-related policy.”

Trump signed an executive order in January 2017 that prohibited citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations—Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen—from entering the United States for 90 days. This action caused significant disruptions in communities and sparked outrage and concerns from civil rights organizations, just one week into his first term as president.