By SUSAN JONES
Several recent executive orders and other statements from the Trump administration have caused confusion about the status of international student population in the United States, including at Pitt.
At the June 11 town hall webinar with Pitt’s senior leaders, Provost Joe McCarthy said that the University anticipates an increase this fall in the number of international students. “And as always, our anticipated new international students are immediately contacted by the Office of International Services (OIS) to answer questions and connect them with immigration specialists.”
They are likely to have many questions about recent federal actions, which include:
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In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration would work to “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.” He said visa criteria also will be revised to increase scrutiny of all future applications of students from China and Hong Kong. But on June 12, in an announcement regarding the trade agreement with China, President Trump verified that Chinese students would continue to be welcomed at U.S. colleges and universities.
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On May 27, the State Department paused visa appointments in all consulates until the government could create guidelines for additional scrutiny around social media accounts of those applying for visas. McCarthy said that on May 29 they received an update that said the pause would be lifted in a matter of days, rather than weeks or months. “Our current understanding is that we may not actually hear an official end to that pause, because it might vary place by place. The government’s encouraging visa applicants to continually check their visa appointments in their own country to determine when they’ll be available.” He said those who had already scheduled appointments should be able to proceed.
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On June 9, a travel ban went into effect that bars travel to the United States by citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. In addition, the Trump administration said citizens from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela cannot come to the United States permanently or get tourist or student visas.
McCarthy said OIS is working with about 1,000 prospective students — two-thirds are graduate and professional students and one-third undergraduates.
OIS also has partnered with two law firms that offer sponsored international University community members a complimentary initial consultation. The University and its Office of University Counsel are helping to cover costs associated with these initial sessions.
The immigration lounges, led by OIS, will continue over the summer from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays at 708 William Pitt Union and 2 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesdays on Zoom. For more information or the latest updates on immigration issues, go to OIS.pitt.edu.
Chinese presence at Pitt
Students from China made up half (1,520) of the University’s 3,048 international students from 107 countries, according to the 2023-24 OIS annual report.
Additionally, about 25% (371) of the 1,472 international scholars and employees at Pitt came from China.
McCarthy said Pitt has not received additional details about what “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese student” means, “but we’re not aware at this time of revocations of any visas for Pitt affiliates, nor have we heard about widespread revocations among the Chinese population around the country from any of our higher ed partners since that announcement was made.”
He said OIS is continuing to monitor federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIS) records “every day in the event that any visa revocations would result from any of these actions.”
Travel ban impact
Pitt does not have a significant population of students or employees from any of the countries impacted by the travel bans and restrictions, although the OIS report said there were 62 employees and 85 professional or graduate students from Iran in 2023-24.
A Pitt spokesperson said the University swiftly communicated with international students who could be impacted by both the full and partial travel bans. “This communication made it clear that neither the full nor the partial ban applies to those who hold current visas as of the effective date of June 4, and it does not affect those who are already within the United States, as long as they remain in the country.
“Our international students who are currently outside of the United States have been advised that they should be able to return to the country if they have a valid visa. Additionally, our international students who are currently inside the United States have been advised that they should be able to travel and return to the country if their visa is valid, although travel outside of the country at this time is not recommended.”
McCarthy said at the town hall that no members of the Pitt community from the 19 targeted countries are affected at this time.
“OIS has been engaged in proactive outreach to students, scholars and employees who might be affected by those travel bans, and they’ll continue to closely monitor the development and implementation of the ban and update information as it becomes available,” McCarthy said.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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