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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, and many other higher education institutions in the United States have advised their international students and staff to return from winter break before January 20, the day Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States. I will take oath.
The advice comes in the wake of the incoming administration’s talk of mass deportation of illegal immigrants in the US. It is estimated that there are more than 11 million illegal immigrants in the country.
The recent Open Doors 2024 report on International Educational Exchange states that there are 1.1 million international students in the US.
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The largest number of these is in India with 330,000. The Higher Ed Immigration Portal estimates that more than 400,000 undocumented students are currently enrolled in American higher education.
Those who have valid F-visas, which is the case for more than 330,000 international students from India, are unlikely to be affected by any visa restrictions by the incoming Trump administration.
However, undocumented students are unlikely to travel abroad, given their experience from 2017, when the Trump administration previously issued an executive order on January 27 barring immigrants and non-immigrant travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries from traveling abroad within 90 days. Was barred from entering America for.
MIT urged students not to pay attention to rumors or speculation.
David C. said, “It is still too early to determine what the immediate impact may be on immigration and visa issues as the new Congress will be sworn in in early January and our new President will be sworn in on January 20, 2025.” Elwell, associate dean and director, MIT International Student Office, said.
New executive orders that could impact travel and visa processing could be implemented on or after that date, he wrote.
“In addition, election changes also impact staffing levels at U.S. embassies/consulates overseas, which may impact entry visa processing times,” Elwell said.
MIT said students who need to apply for new entry visas to return to the U.S. should prepare for extensive processing time and have a backup plan if they must travel abroad and wait for the new entry visa to be issued. Will have to wait.
It said any delays in processing could impact students’ ability to return to the US as planned. The Trump transition team did not respond to PTI’s queries on the issue.
“The Office of Global Affairs recommends that our UMass Amherst international community – which includes all international students, scholars, faculty and staff under UMass immigration sponsorship – strongly consider returning to the United States before Presidential Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025. If they plan to travel internationally during winter break,” the University of Massachusetts wrote in a post on Instagram.
The university said it is not its order but a recommendation based on past experience with travel restrictions previously implemented in the Trump administration.
“…The Office of Global Affairs is advising this out of an abundance of caution to prevent any potential travel disruption for members of our international community,” it said.
“We are not able to predict what travel restrictions will look like if they are implemented, nor can we predict which particular countries or regions of the world may or may not be affected,” the university said.
Many other universities have also issued similar advisories.
Wesleyan University in Indiana urged international students to remain on campus until January 19.
“The safest way to avoid difficulty re-entering the country is to be physically present in the US between January 19 and the days following the spring semester,” Wesleyan’s Office of International Student Affairs wrote in an email last Monday. “
Yale University organized a virtual session with its international students on this issue.
It added, “We are taking our discussion forward after the election by hosting another session on how the U.S. presidential election has shaped U.S. immigration policy and what we are looking forward to in Trump’s second presidency.”
The university has over 6,000 international students and scholars from over 120 countries.
Also read: Australia increases international student visa fee from AUD 710 to AUD 1,600 from July 1: Government
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