Dear Erica,
Happy May Day! May 1 also marks “Decision Day,” the deadline by which many aspiring U.S. college students must decide where to enroll. For my high school senior, his decision was made months ago (shout-out to Rhodes College!) but it has been so exciting to watch my social media channels fill with announcements showing smiling faces and college insignias. For international students, their enrollment decision also includes weighing their odds of securing a visa so that they can arrive on a U.S. campus on time this fall. Use this moment to urge your members of Congress to support priority processing of student visas this summer!
In the good news department—thanks to advocate voices like yours—a sign-on letter led by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) in support of robust FY2027 funding for international education and exchange programs at the Department of State garnered 36 signatures. Once we receive the final text of the letter, we will ask you to send a message of thanks if your senator(s) was a signatory.
We are also pleased that ten Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter pressing the Government Accounting Office for answers related to the ongoing USCIS freeze on processing immigration benefits for nationals from 39 travel ban countries and the Department of State pause in immigrant visa issuance at U.S. consulates abroad for nationals of 75 countries (23 of which are affected by the current travel ban). Note: the latter pause does not apply to nonimmigrant visas such as F student visas or J exchange visitor visas while the USCIS freeze impacts international students from travel ban countries who are seeking benefits such as authorization for Optional Practical Training. The Cato Institute estimates that about a total of about two million petitions are being held up—petitions that generated more than $1 billion in fees for USCIS.
Readers are encouraged to use NAFSA’s IssueNet tool to report cases of international students and scholars impacted by the USCIS processing pause to help inform our outreach. A new interactive USCIS dashboard created by the American Immigration Council tracks trends in filings and processing times, where USCIS backlogs have grown and how long it would take to clear them, and other key metrics.
In other international student and scholar news, while we are still waiting for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) final rule regarding Duration of Status, there are things your institution can do to prepare. View a recording of a webinar NAFSA co-hosted earlier this week on this topic and access related resources on NAFSA’s website.
We are also aware of recent anecdotal reports of Iranian student visas being revoked. It is not clear if any are due to current country restriction policies such as the travel ban or USCIS processing pause. For readers seeking resources on visa revocations, start with this NAFSA resource page and join the discussion on NAFSA’s International Student Advising Network.
Speaking of DHS, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday to fully fund the agency for the current fiscal year except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which already received funding from last summer’s One Big Beautiful Bill. The legislation was quickly signed by the president, effectively ending a historic, 76-day shutdown.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Thank you kindly.
Best,
Erica
Erica Stewart
Senior Director, Advocacy & Strategic Communications
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
