Last week, The Argus sat down with the Office of International Student Affairs (OISA) staff—Director of International Student Services Morgan Keller, Assistant Director of International Student Compliance Janice Watson, and Assistant Director of International Student Engagement Dari Jigjidsuren—to discuss potential policy changes following President Donald Trump’s inauguration and its impact on international students at the University.
The Argus: What steps should international students take to maintain their immigration status and avoid any issues under the new administration?
Morgan Keller: Things haven’t changed in terms of the fundamentals and requirements of maintaining status for F-1 students. We do our best to continually educate through pre-arrival, orientation, advising sessions, and workshops. [This includes] making sure you’re enrolled full-time at all times, unless you’ve got permission to have a reduced course load, adhering to the 20-hour rule when classes are in session, not working off-campus without authorization, making sure that you’re informing us if your address has changed within 10 days, keeping your passport valid six months into the future, [and] making sure that your I-20 doesn’t expire unless you’re going to be graduating. These are the basics of maintaining your status, and under the current administration, there have been no changes to that. So, [in terms of] F-1 status, students should continue to do those things, and if there’s ever any uncertainty or questions they may have about that, they should always be checking out our website, emailing, and coming in for our advising services.
MK: The one other thing I’ll add, within the context of the current administration, is that all F-1 status international students should try to have their documents on them as [often] as possible, especially when they’re traveling. It’s always possible that you can be approached and assessed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.
JW: Everybody has their phone. Have [your passport and I-20] electronically available so that you can access them easily. Another thing that a lot of times we forget is that you need to make sure that you are following the rules, the laws, the regulations of the city, the town, the state that you’re in. If you’re underage, you should not be drinking or driving [under the influence]. That’s all a part of maintaining your status.
A: How is the office preparing to assist international students if F-1 or J-1 visa policies do change under the Trump administration?
MK: Anything that I would say about this should be prefaced by the reality that we’re in a very fluid situation. There are a lot of executive orders being announced by President Trump, but how those things actually play out, and ultimately result in policy change or change in regulations, remains to be seen. We’re very fortunate that we’re part of a very strong network that is national and international—an organization called NAFSA: Association of International Educators—and they have amazing resources to help us stay abreast real-time. Those are publicized ways to understand the law in the U.S., and the way we should be advising or not advising international students as designated school officials [are included]. We’re part of NAFSA Region 11, which [includes] all the New England states. There’s also something unique to our region. It’s called the Government Regulations Advisory Committee, and that is a mix of very experienced designated school officials, like the three of us, and immigration attorneys. They are a tremendous resource for gray areas and concerns related to F-1 and J-1 status exchange visitors are navigating right now, and they put on the spring immigration workshop every year.
A: What are resources for international students who are particularly concerned about the possibility of travel bans, or [for] incoming students who can potentially experience visa delays?
JW: As far as the travel bans go, it’s hard for us to speculate, but I would say, as the new students are coming in, we are doing all we can now to issue I-20s to those students, so that they can, as early as possible, begin their visa process. So far, which is not going to seem like much, we’ve issued five to six [I-20 forms to students] who have provided us with all of the documentation that we need to create their I-20. We’ve already sent some out to those who have early decision acceptances. We’ve sent out their documents so that they can begin their visa process now.
MK: That’s earlier than we’ve ever done, because we’ve already been anticipating that there could be changes in terms of visa appointments, wait times, and processing times for visas. So that’s been a change this year, and we’re really hoping that it will increase the likelihood that students are able to get their visas in a timely manner, and then come here starting in the fall.
JW: Normally, we begin sending the I-20s somewhere like early March to late April. We’ve already sent out several of them this year. We sent out some in late January to some students who have provided the documents.
A: Since we’ve discussed many policy changes that still remain uncertain, what advice do you have for international students who are feeling anxious about their future in the United States?
MK: On the first day of the Spring semester, we sent out an email with upcoming things for this semester, our services, and workshops. But the last part of that message was about the current administration and information—for example, being wary of misinformation and disinformation. Trying to find your news on social media is never a good idea. A part of that was also reminding students that they should always come to us when they have questions or they hear about things. It’s important for students to know that there’s a process. It’s not like something is announced unilaterally, and then in 24 hours, their ability to be here in the United States will be affected, [even] if they’ve been doing all the right things to maintain their status and be here legally, which all of our international students have been doing. It’s also important for students to try to utilize a lot of the great campus resources we have to practice self-care: CAPS, WesWell, and the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life Programs.
JW: It’s just important to manage your self-care, try not to get anxious, and even if you do feel yourself getting there, we’re here. Come sit down and talk to us.
Dari Jigjidsuren: The most reliable source to get information is the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website. Check the information there and read it. If you hear from somebody [via] word of mouth, please make sure to confirm it. I encourage you to attend events on campus we’re holding, [including] immigration workshops, or if there’s a lawyer coming in.
A: Will the University remain an attractive and welcoming destination for international students given the current administration’s steps?
DJ: In the last 10 years, there’ve been at least 900,000 international students in the United States. I know we’re talking about ourselves like everybody is concerned about their own situation. But then if you look at the big scale, what are the chances of shutting down this program for 900,000 students? Even during Trump’s previous administration, the number didn’t go down, except for COVID-19. COVID-19 had a bigger impact than his administration. So hopefully the numbers will still remain stable, and our international students will still continue choosing the United States to get an education. [I think that] Wesleyan, because we are a smaller school, [will] be one of the attractions. We can give individual attention to our 300 international students, and this will remain same in the years to come.
A: Since the Trump administration is discontinuing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and initiating funding cuts, do you expect any changes in specifically scholarships or grants that international students are accustomed to?
JW: He’s saying to the institutions: if you continue to engage in DEI your federal funding will cease. A lot of the grants that students are given from Wesleyan actually come from Wesleyan, so that the federal funding is not impacting Wesleyan. That’s my understanding. I wouldn’t say [this situation is] flat-footed—absolutely not, because there’s always a chance—but I think [international students] are pretty safe here.
MK: I’ve been at Wesleyan for a little more than three and a half years now, and in that time, the Wesleyan African Scholars Program came into being. The no loan policy right initiative came into being last year. I’ve been so impressed and amazed by these different initiatives that the University is committed to—to create access for students with financial need. So my impression of the leaders of this institution is that they’re very committed to continuing to provide access for students through these different programs.
DJ: Public universities are funded by the federal government—federal money—and that’s where the DEI offices are closed. People were laid off. But here, we see our offices still functioning, because we are private. At least for this moment, we are safe, hopefully. But again, we don’t know how it’s going to affect finance and everything on a larger scale. Our students are international students, so they are funded by the University, and not the Government of the United States.
The OISA is co-sponsoring the Q&A with an Immigration Lawyer on Feb. 25 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Ring Family Performing Arts Hall which will feature Mauricio Noroña, a New York-based attorney specializing in immigration policy, litigation, and ICE enforcement. Mauricio’s remarks will be followed by a Q&A session primarily directed to students who are directly or indirectly affected by the current political climate.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Raiza Goel can be reached at rgoel@wesleyan.edu.