After not being home for a year as an international student at USC, Kevin Lu was looking forward to returning to visit his parents in the Chinese city of Shenzhen for winter break.
However, as President-elect Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration approached, he changed his mind and chose to remain in Los Angeles.
“It’s too risky,” said Lu, a fourth-year finance major. Mr. Lu cited President Trump’s hawkish stance toward China and his decision to limit Chinese student visas for academics to their first term as a national security “threat,” and said that many students with visas have been cut off. He promised to re-sign the same travel ban that left him stranded almost eight years ago. airport.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen next,” Lu said.
At the University of Southern California, where more than a quarter of the 47,000 students are international students, some are making last-minute changes to their travel plans ahead of the inauguration of the next administration, while others are looking to find employment after graduation in the United States. Some are reconsidering their activities, and many are panicking. There have been mixed signals regarding interest in foreign students and workers.
The university is warning foreigners to follow Mr. Lu’s lead by refraining from or shortening short-term trips outside the United States after next week’s finals.
“The new presidential administration will take office on January 20, 2025 and, as is generally the case, may issue one or more executive orders impacting travel and visa processing to the United States. Will such an order be issued? “While we cannot be certain, the safest way to avoid any problems is to be physically present in the United States by the start of the spring semester on January 13, 2025,” the USC Office of International Services said in a letter this month. It is written in
Demonstrators rally at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building in San Diego in June 2018 to protest then-President Trump’s travel ban.
(Hayne Palmore IV/San Diego Union-Tribune)
During President Trump’s first term, travel restrictions affected several Muslim-majority countries, including Iran and Iraq. The Supreme Court ruled that the ban was legal. Immigration experts outside court said the ban was based on limited and sometimes misleading data on security screening of visitors, immigrants and refugees from the United States.
This time, the Prime Minister said he would once again impose travel and refugee bans on “Gaza, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, or any other place that threatens our security.”
He continued to view China as an economic and security rival and said he would impose tariffs on imports. At the same time, his campaign included a promise to “automatically” grant green cards, permanent residency, to foreign nationals who graduate from U.S. universities, but the group said it would “automatically” grant green cards to foreign nationals who graduate from U.S. universities, but the group said it would be “most skilled graduates.” As a result of careful examination, it will be limited to ensure that only
USC is not alone in issuing recommendations. The University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Office of International Affairs recently issued a similar message, saying international students should return home before Inauguration Day “out of an abundance of caution.” The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wesleyan University issued similar notices.
Praya Bhatt, a sophomore at the University of Southern California from Bangalore, India, said the university’s recommendations reinforced concerns she already felt after the election.
“I am not too worried about my situation as I have a valid visa, am returning home on vacation and already have a ticket to be back here by January 13th,” the communication said. said Mr. Butt, who studies cognitive science. “But I really wonder how friendly the U.S. is overall to people like me. I still have time until I graduate, but I think I should consider staying in the U.S. after I graduate.” I’m not sure what to do.”
Niels W. Frenzen, a professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and co-director of the school’s Immigration Clinic, said he was fielding questions from students about what President Trump’s next term would mean for their immigration status. He said the number is rapidly increasing.
“We have been doing sessions to know our rights, but many students come to private sessions just to check in, even if they have all their paperwork,” Frentzen said. . Mr. Frentzen’s clinic recently hosted a workshop on immigration hurdles ahead of Mr. White. The house will change. The original travel ban focused on Muslim-majority countries, but the revised version upheld by the Supreme Court added two more countries: Venezuela and North Korea.
“It’s not just international students who are less likely to run into problems, but they certainly did run into problems early in the Trump era when the Muslim ban was in place,” Frenzen said. Concerns have also been raised by “undocumented students and students of mixed backgrounds.” [immigration] Frenzen referred to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allows people who came to the United States as children without legal permission to remain legally and work in the country. spoke.
Ji-Hwan Lee, a University of Southern California student from South Korea, said the concerns among foreigners he knows depend on his home country’s relationship with the United States.
“Personally, I have no direct concerns about possible travel restrictions. I am here for the holidays anyway. Even if I leave the United States, Korean citizens are not subject to such travel restrictions. I believe it will not affect me,” said Lee, who is pursuing a Ph.D. South Korea is a strong ally of the United States.
“I don’t think there will be such travel restrictions or visa issues for European Union nationals or pro-American East Asian countries, for example,” Lee said.
Annabelle Leight, a senior at the University of Southern California from Australia, said she wasn’t too worried because of her background.
“I’m a fourth-year student, so I’m very familiar with visas and the documents required to enter and exit the country,” said Leight, a business major. She said she had decided a few months ago to skip the winter holiday trip and return to the Brisbane area to save money.
“But it’s really hard to know what will happen. Is President Trump good or bad for international students?”
Some USC students and professors interviewed said they either didn’t expect major changes or didn’t hear about students’ concerns.
“My group is almost 100% international, and we’ve always been affected by visa issues,” said Anna Krylov, a chemistry professor at the University of Southern California who teaches many international students. “For example, two graduate students who joined my group this year lost an entire year of their studies because it took more than a year to obtain their student visas.”
The longtime professor said she has seen similar cases over the past 10 years under Presidents Biden, Trump and Obama.
“In other cases, we have left students and postdocs stranded abroad, waiting weeks or even months for their visas to be renewed,” Krylov said. “Our classes start on January 13th, so we hope to have everyone back by that date.”
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