Students of the world who were preparing to study in the United States this fall face an increasing uncertainty after the Trump administration Temporarily interrupted the meetings on students’ visas this week.
On Tuesday, a directive of the State Department ordered us to the world embassies to immediately plan to plan Visa interviews For foreign students while he is preparing to implement social networks Screening of all international visa candidates.
During the interview nominations Who were already planned can proceed, the announcement has triggered panic among students who have not yet obtained interviews. The students who spoke with the Guardian expressed anxiety in the face of delays in the treatment of visas which could compromise the scholarships, housing on campus, their ability to start the courses in time – and their very academic future.
“My stomach has just dropped,” said Oliver Cropley, 27, a student at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, who is supposed to frequent the University of Kansas from August for a year abroad.
The directive occurred in the middle of a series of recent policy changes targeting international students in American universities. This week, the Trump administration has published new measures targeting Chinese students, announcing that it would focus on the visas of those who study “Critical fieldsAnd students with links with the Chinese Communist Party, and implement a meticulous examination of all future candidates from China and Hong Kong.
Last week, the Department of Internal Security said it would immediately prohibit Harvard University from registering international students, forcing the international student organization to transfer or leave the country. A federal judge blocked this effort ThursdayBut its long -term result remains uncertain.
The changes have left many international students who plan to come to the United States for the 2025-2026 academic year to scramble and in limbo.
Cropley said he had paid all requests for the American visa, including the last administrative costs last week to plan his visa interview, but he could not plan it or reach anyone at the United States Embassy.
“I was looking forward to Kansas. I love America, fauna, culture,” said Cropley
“It demoralized me,” said Cropley. “It is a sufficient process, then to obtain this kind of reversal at this stage … I am supposed to be there on August 4.”
The scholarship he received to study in the United States is also siluier, he said because it depends on his trip.
While waiting for updates to the United States Embassy, Cropley said he was exploring his options-inquire about the possibility of re-registering at his native university in the United Kingdom and completing the year there in the United States. But it said “it is quite late” to choose lessons and modules and find accommodation.
“I am sort of stuck between the two different universities without any guarantee of participating either,” said Cropley. “Essentially, it’s just a waiting game.”
Another British student, who was accepted in Harvard for the fall, told the Guardian that they were in “disbelief” on the administration’s attempt to prevent Harvard from registering from international students.
“In your head, you have the next type of five years knowing where you will suddenly be overnight, which changes,” they said, speaking anonymously for fear that their comments can affect their visa approval.
The student said their visa interview was already planned when the directive had been issued, so they hope that their interview is still forward.
Recent decisions by the Trump administration “Lift a lot of uncertainty for the future,” they said, adding that the situation at Harvard seems “very fragile”.
“We can still be able to go, but at any time it could change,” they said. “And if you go to this place, to work, but your mind is consumed by the fear of how you can be founded, things change, it’s also difficult to manage.”
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They said that if they got their visa, they still plan to register for Harvard.
The goalkeeper last week Guest researchers In the United States and students, in the United States, the United States, to share their experiences to sail in the recent actions of the Trump administration targeting higher education. More than 100 people have replied, much saying that they reconsidize their academic future in the country. Several international students who wrote in refused follow -up interviews with The Guardian, citing the fear of the repercussions.
Alfred Williamson, a first Harvard cycle in Wales in Denmark for the summer, said Reuters This week, he fears that he could not return to the United States. “We are used as pawns in the game we have no control,” he said. “We are caught in this cross fire between the White House and Harvard, and it’s incredibly dehumanizing.”
A few universities have advised students who are already registered not to leave the United States for the summer in case it is not authorized.
In the United States, more than 1.1 million international students are currently more Institute of International Education. They usually pay Two to three times Tuition fees of domestic students, and for the 2023-2024 academic year, international students contributed to 43.8 billion dollars to the American economy, according to Nafsa.
In a judicial On Wednesday, as part of a Harvard trial against the Trump administration’s efforts to ban international school students, Maureen Martin, Director of Harvard immigration services, described “fear, concern and deep confusion” among students and teachers following action.
Professors and administrators, she said, have been “flooded” for requests for current international students on their status and options, and several foreign consulates in the United States contacted the university to request the clarity of the way policy affects their registered nationals.
Martin said that many international students experience “significant emotional distress that affects their mental health and makes it difficult to focus on their studies”.
Some, she said, avoid graduation ceremonies for the fear of an immigration action, while others have canceled travel plans due to the concerns for which they may not be authorized in the United States. “Too many international students counting” have investigated the possibility of transferring to another institution, she said.
Martin said that several Harvard current visas holders also faced a meticulous examination at airports.
The Guardian has contacted comments in a number of universities with large populations of foreign students. Most said they were monitoring the situation and would do what they could to support their students.
“We have a solid set of resources for our incoming and current international students, as well as emergency plans for those who could suffer disruption of their learning,” said Renata Nyul, vice-president of communications at Northeastern University.
A spokesperson for Arizona State University, who has more than 17,000 international students, said the university “watched the situation closely and remains determined to fully support all international students to complete their study programs”.
