Columbia's International Students & Scholars Office has shared this message with all Columbia community members from countries that are the focus of President Trump's new executive order on immigration.
Dear Students and Scholars of Columbia,
As you are aware, President Trump signed an Executive Order, “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,” yesterday afternoon (the text was just released this morning). Of immediate importance are key provisions of this Executive Order:
- A 90-day suspension of admission to the US of non-immigrants and immigrants from seven designated countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
- Suspension of the “Visa Interview Waiver Process.”
- A 120-day suspension of the “U.S. Refugee Admissions Program” (USRAP) which admits and resettles refugees from around the world.
- An indefinite suspension of the processing of refugee applications from Syria.
- Review of visa policies and processes including Visa Reciprocity.
Given these provisions, I recommend that foreign nationals from the countries listed avoid all international travel for now.
We have cross-checked our list of foreign nationals from the affected countries with our International SOS travel records. At this point, we can report that visa holders from these countries have already returned to the U.S. If you know of a colleague from the affected countries who is outside the U.S., please let me know immediately.
For more information, please see The New York Times.
More information will be made available to you as we receive it. Please also contact me directly at [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
Clearly this Executive Order is cause for concern. Please know that ISSO and Columbia stand ready to help in any way we can to support our students and scholars.
David B. Austell
Associate Provost and Director
Columbia University International Students and Scholars Office
Columbia University
