US universities warn international students of possible visa issues in Trump return to power

As president-elect Donald Trump prepares to re-enter the White House, universities across the country are warning international students to be aware that coming executive orders on immigration could affect their status in the US.

“During the first four years of the Trump administration, a travel ban was imposed that impacted multiple countries, and resulted in many/some international students encountering difficulties re-entering the US to resume classes,” the University of California-Berkeley recently posted on its International website.

“Whether such policies will be implemented again and/or blocked by the courts or via other means is unclear. Out of an abundance of caution, we are recommending a return to the United States prior to January 20.”

Cornell University's Office of Global Learning issued a similar warning to students of a travel ban that “is likely to go into effect soon after inauguration”.

“The ban is likely to include citizens of the countries targeted in the first Trump administration: Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Myanmar, Sudan, Tanzania, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen and Somalia,” a statement from the office said, adding that students, faculty and staff from these countries should be back in the US before the term begins on January 21.

Columbia University was at the centre of the pro-Palestine protests that swept educational institutions across the country in the spring.

“As we do with administrative changes at all levels of government, Columbia is gathering relevant information on the incoming administration,” university spokeswoman Samantha Slater said in an email to the Columbia Spectator. International students were advised in an email “to return to Columbia’s campus before this semester’s start date to avoid any potential travel delays”.

During his first term in office, Mr Trump enacted a Muslim ban, which blocked citizens of some Muslim-majority countries from entering the US. Amid protests surrounding the Israel-Gaza war, he also vowed to revoke the visas of “radical anti-American and anti-Semitic foreigners” studying at US universities.

This, coupled with a growing level of anti-immigrant rhetoric from the Republican Party, has some international students concerned.

Mr Trump's platform on immigration, however, has focused primarily on stopping people from entering the country illegally. And he said during a June interview with The All-In Podcast that international students “should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country”.

But in 2020, during Mr Trump's first term, the Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule on “duration of status” that would create a fixed amount of time of authorised stay for students on certain types of visas. The president-elect also supported the Raise Act in 2017, which would have halved the number of green cards issued.

More than 1.1 million international students were enrolled in US colleges and universities during the 2023-24 school year, according to Open Doors, a data project partially funded by the State Department. Chinese and Indian students have accounted for more than half of all international students in the US, and about 43,800 come from the countries affected by the previous travel restrictions.