US universities urge international students to return to campus before Trump takes office

Some US universities are encouraging international students to return to campus early after winter break, amid concerns that travel bans could be imposed after President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

New York University (NYU), which has the largest international student population in the United States, has called on international students to quickly return to school before President-elect Donald Trump takes office - Photo: CNN

According to CNN, there are currently more than 1.1 million international students studying at colleges and universities in the US in the 2024-2025 school year.

International students usually have a long-term student visa. This is an entry visa that allows foreign students to study full-time at a high school, college or university but is not allowed to stay or settle in the United States.

During his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump pledged to implement tougher immigration policies upon his return to the White House, including expanding the travel ban, barring entry to people from Muslim-majority countries, and revoking student visas for “anti-American and anti-Semitic foreigners.”

“This is a scary time for international students,” Pramath Pratap Misra, 23, a political science graduate from New York University (NYU) from India, told CNN.

According to Misra, NYU is the university with the most international students in the US with about 27,000 students in the last academic year.

Cornell University has encouraged international students to return to campus before January 21, when the spring semester begins and immediately after Mr. Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

“The travel ban is likely to take effect immediately after the inauguration. It could affect citizens of countries targeted by the Trump administration, including Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Myanmar, Sudan, Tanzania, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Somalia, as well as newly added countries, especially China and India,” Cornell warned international students in late November.

Similarly, the University of Southern California (USC), which had more than 17,000 international students last academic year, also sent an email urging international students to return to campus as soon as possible, at least a week before Mr. Trump returns to the White House. USC has the largest international student population in the state of California.

Mr. Trump's "promise" to deport illegal immigrants en masse also affects important industries such as agriculture , entertainment, restaurants - hotels, construction and health care. At the same time, it makes it difficult for international students to plan their winter vacations.

However, Mr. Trump also promised to "automatically" grant green cards (permanent resident cards for foreigners in the US) to foreign citizens who have graduated from colleges and universities in the US.

If this proposal is passed by Mr. Trump and the US Congress , millions of international students could become legal permanent residents in the land of the stars and stripes.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cac-truong-dai-hoc-my-keu-goi-sinh-vien-quoc-te-tro-ve-truong-truoc-khi-ong-trump-nham-chuc-20241227105739988.htm