Dear Erica,
The calendar shows a new month, and yet the conflict in the Middle East continues—and now threatens to hit close to home. Iranian military leaders have reportedly warned they could attack Israeli and U.S. institutions in the region in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli strikes on as many as 20 Iranian universities. This Inside Higher Ed story describes how several branch campuses in the Middle East have been supporting students and how the conflict has affected study abroad programming there.
As NAFSA CEO and Executive Director said in a response to the media, higher education institutions serve as “vital spaces for the advancement of knowledge, and their protection is essential in times of conflict. Universities and the communities they sustain should not be impacted by violence under any circumstances, regardless of the perpetrator. We encourage our partners and institutional members to remain attentive and proactive by following established crisis protocols, maintaining regular communication with partner institutions, and prioritizing the safety and well-being of their communities.”
As shared in this newsletter previously, the U.S. State Department finally released F-1 student visa issuance data and the news was not good: issuances between May and August 2025 were down 36 percent compared to same time period the year before. Issuances in September 2025 fell 17 percent compared to September 2024. As described in a new NAFSA blog post, this validates the alarm we sounded last spring—even before the visa pause and adds to our concern over the prospects for this summer’s processing season as well.
NAFSA and the U.S. for Success Coalition has long called for the Department of State to expedite visa processing for international students and scholars and to exempt them from the travel bans that now affect nationalities from 39 countries. We continue to press for these measures as the calendar rushes towards summer, including requesting a meeting last February with the newly sworn-in Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, Mora Namdar. We are eagerly awaiting a response. See below for a way to advocate for student visa appointments and processing with your members of Congress. They have an important oversight role to play with all federal agencies and they should exercise it here! Keep up to date by visiting NAFSA’s page, "Nonimmigrant Visa Toolbox for Advisers."
On a brighter note, 82 members of the House of Representatives lent their signature to the letter led by Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC-02) in support of FY 2027 funding for Title VI and Fulbright-Hays at the Department of Education. Thank your representative for adding their name! (Our system will determine if they did; you won’t be able to send a message if they didn’t).
If you are tuned into March (or now April) Madness, Karin Fischer reviewed the rosters of the “Final Four” teams in both the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and found a decidedly international picture. “Five of 15 players on the University of Illinois men’s team, which faces the University of Connecticut, are from overseas, including three from Croatia. More than half of the roster for the University of Arizona, which takes on the University of Michigan, hails from another country.” In contrast, on the women’s side, “three of the four teams still in the playoffs — Connecticut, South Carolina, and UCLA — have three international members. The University of Texas has just two.” I suspect this disparity has more to do with the strength of the men’s player development programs in those countries rather than visa issuance, but I could be wrong! 😊
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Urge your members of Congress to press the Department of State to prioritize visa processing for international students and scholars and exempt them from the travel ban. Don’t forget to personalize your letters.
Thank your representative for signing the letter in support of FY2027 funding for Title VI and Fulbright-Hays programs at the Department of Education. Our system will only generate an email to send if your representative signed the letter. If they did not, you will not be able to send a message.
Enjoy your (Easter) weekend, if you chose to observe!
Best,
Erica
Erica Stewart
Senior Director, Advocacy & Strategic Communications
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
