Latest news with #studentvisa
News24
an hour ago
- Health
- News24
Foreign students want to transfer from Harvard over Trump ‘fear, concern, and confusion'
Foreign students at Harvard University have asked about transferring to other institutions. The Trump administration has banned it from hosting foreign students. A judge last week suspended the government's move on Harvard. Harvard University has been flooded with requests from foreign students to transfer to other institutions as US President Donald Trump's administration seeks to ban it from hosting international scholars, a staff member said on Wednesday. 'Too many international students to count have inquired about the possibility of transferring to another institution,' Maureen Martin, director of immigration services, wrote in a court filing. Trump has upended the US' reputation among foreign students, who number around one million, as he presses a campaign against US universities he sees as obstructing his 'Make America Great Again' populist agenda. He has blocked Harvard from hosting international scholars in a manoeuvre being challenged legally, targeted non-citizen campus activists for deportation, and most recently suspended student visa processing across the board. The president's crackdown has prompted 'profound fear, concern, and confusion' among students and staff at the elite university, which has been 'inundated with questions from current international students and scholars about their status and options', Martin wrote. More than 27% of Harvard's enrolment was made up of foreign students in the 2024-25 academic year, according to university data. 'Many international students and scholars are reporting significant emotional distress that is affecting their mental health and making it difficult to focus on their studies,' Martin wrote in the filing. Some were afraid to attend their graduation ceremonies this week or had cancelled travel plans for fear of being refused re-entry into the US, she added. She said that a handful of domestic students at Harvard had also 'expressed serious interest' in transferring elsewhere because they did not want to attend a university with no international students. A judge last week suspended the government's move to block Harvard from enrolling and hosting foreign students after the Ivy League school sued, calling the action unconstitutional. At least 10 foreign students or scholars at Harvard had their visa applications refused immediately after the block on foreign students was announced, including students whose visa applications had already been approved, Martin wrote. 'My current understanding is that the visa applications that were refused or revoked following the Revocation Notice have not yet been approved or reinstated,' despite a judge suspending the move, she said.
NHK
3 hours ago
- General
- NHK
US Embassy in Japan suspends interviews for student visa applicants
Japan's Foreign Ministry says it has confirmed that the US Embassy in Japan has suspended new interview appointments for student visa applicants. The move came after an order issued earlier this month by the administration of US President Donald Trump. The ministry said on Friday that the embassy is still accepting visa applications, and interviews that have already been scheduled are proceeding as planned. According to Foreign Ministry sources, the embassy explained that the pause is a temporary measure that will remain in place until the US government announces new measures, including expanded social media vetting of student visa applicants. Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi said people planning to travel to the US have expressed concern, and his ministry is responding with close attention. He added that the government has asked the US side to provide thorough information.
Washington Post
16 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Trump's visa crackdown plunges 275,000 Chinese students into uncertainty
More than a quarter-million Chinese students attending college in the United States saw their futures plunged into uncertainty Wednesday when the Trump administration announced an aggressive crackdown on student visa holders from that country. With an estimated 277,398 students pursuing primarily undergraduate and graduate degrees, China ranks only behind India among foreign countries with the highest number of students attending college in the U.S., according to data from the Institute of International Education. Since China's middle-class boom in the early aughts, its students have flocked to U.S. institutions, which in turn welcomed the enrollment boost and mostly unsubsidized tuition fees.
The National
17 hours ago
- General
- The National
Judge extends order blocking Trump administration's ban on foreign students at Harvard
A US judge on Thursday extended an order blocking President Donald Trump's administration from barring Harvard University from enrolling foreign students. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs said she wants 'to maintain the status quo' and allow Harvard to continue hosting international students on visas, according to CNN. Harvard sued the Department of Homeland Security last week after Secretary Kristi Noem revoked its ability to host foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The order from DHS said already enrolled would need to move to new university programmes or leave the country. Ms Burroughs told the legal teams representing Harvard and the Justice Department to work out an agreement to stop the revocation of the student visa programme for the time being. 'It doesn't need to be draconian, but I want to make sure it's worded in such a way that nothing changes,' she said. Before the hearing, the Trump administration withdrew its threats to immediately remove its certification under a federal programme to enrol non-US students, sending a notice that gave Harvard 30 days to provide evidence showing why the government should allow the university to admit them. Mr Trump said from the Oval Office on Wednesday that Harvard should have a 15 per cent cap on foreign students, instead of the current 31 per cent. 'We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools [but] they can't get in because we have foreign students there,' he said. The administration has also frozen billions of dollars in funding to the university and ended tens of millions in contracts after it refused to implement changes to policy following accusations of having an intense liberal bias and failing to control anti-Semitism on campus. Separately, it has also frozen student visa interviews at all consulates and embassies as the administration prepares to begin taking social media activity into consideration during the application process. Meanwhile, Harvard held its commencement on Thursday, although the celebratory mood was somewhat muted by the battles with the Trump administration. Harvard president Alan Garber, who has defended the university's actions, did not directly address the Trump administration threats when he spoke to graduates. But he did get rousing applause when he referred to the university's global reach, noting that it is 'just as it should be'.
New York Times
19 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Harvard Wins Initial Court Fight to Keep Its International Students
A federal judge on Thursday said she would issue an order temporarily blocking the Trump administration from enforcing a ban on international students at Harvard. The judge voiced concerns that the government was attempting to prevent foreign students from enrolling despite her earlier order blocking the administration's planned actions. The Trump administration had attempted to forestall the judge's decision by sending a last-minute notice offering the university an additional 30 days to respond to its demands just hours before squaring off against Harvard's lawyers in federal court. But Judge Allison D. Burroughs said she wanted to issue an injunction anyway, repeating concerns that student visas were being delayed or rescinded. Harvard sued the Trump administration last week, after the government announced it would revoke the university's authorization to enroll students from abroad. Hours after the lawsuit was filed, Judge Burroughs issued a short-term ban on those efforts. International students make up about a quarter of Harvard's student body, and are critical to the university's academics and finances. The school had asked for the extension so that international students, many of whom had left campus for the summer, could return to Harvard for their studies while the litigation continues. An extension would also clear the way for incoming first-year students from abroad to proceed with their plans. The Trump administration has argued that Harvard lost its right to admit international students because of its inability to curb antisemitism on campus, among other allegations. Harvard leaders have acknowledged some problems with antisemitism, but said the school had taken many steps to address them. Lawyers for Harvard have argued that the Trump administration's ban on international students at the school was illegal and a sign of a political crusade against the nation's wealthiest university. Citing a barrage of social media posts by President Trump that attack the university for its political ideology and professors, lawyers for Harvard had argued that the ban was unfounded and retaliatory. As evidence, they pointed to Mr. Trump's own posts attacking the university on his social media platform, Truth Social. Judge Burroughs was also expected to rule on a request from the university that she order the administration to clear the way for the entry of Harvard students into the United States. The university had complained of reports from students that they had already faced hurdles at embassies and consulates. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
