Universities are urging international students to return to the United States prior to Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, according to Inside Higher Ed. The University of Connecticut is asking international students to return to the U.S. by Jan. 19 to get ready ahead of classes, not due to Trump’s inauguration.
In the first week of Trump’s first term in office, he issued an executive order restricting entry into the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries. Later in his term, he added more countries to the list.
University Spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said in an email that UConn recommends that students traveling internationally return to campus by Jan. 19 ahead of classes, which begin Jan. 21.
“As always, UConn plans to monitor any policy changes to determine how it may affect our population,” Reitz said. “However, the advice to return to campus by Jan. 19 wasn’t precipitated specifically by that possibility.”
Arthur Galinat, director of International Student and Scholar Services at UConn, discussed ways that the International Students and Scholars Office is working to support students.
“After the election, there was a lot of anxiety among some of our current students, especially those who were here during the pandemic and pre-pandemic during the first Trump Administration,” Galinat said.
Galinat said that he and his staff had been going to professional development webinars to learn as much as they could about the incoming administration.
“What we wanted to do to try and reduce student anxiety was, we put together a listening session where students could ask questions and express their concerns,” Galinat said.
According to Galinat, a hybrid meeting was hosted on Nov. 14 to discuss Trump’s election. He said he viewed this as a chance to reassure students that they would be supported by the International Students’ Office and the university as a whole.
“We gave a short presentation at the beginning where we focused on a lot of the executive orders and presidential proclamations that happened in the first Trump Administration and how they may have impacted international students and scholars in the U.S,” Galinat said.
Galinat said that they shared information on ways UConn worked to advocate for international students during that time.
“There were a lot of things that the university was doing to advocate on behalf of our students, working with our congressional delegation, working with other schools and colleges and working with our professional associations to try and advocate for the best possible outcome for our students,” Galinat said.
An email sent on Nov. 18 to international students advised them to monitor the Center for International Students and Scholars website for up-to-date information about travel.
“You must report your travel to ISSS every time you depart the U.S. Complete a Travel Information Record in the ISSS Portal before you leave the U.S,” the email said.
The email advised international students to email international@uconn.edu to meet with an advisor if they had concerns over travel.
“All students and scholars need a valid travel signature before you depart the U.S,” the email said. “The ‘Travel Endorsement’ section on page 2 of your Form I-20 for F-1 students or the ‘Travel Validation’ space on page 1 of your Form DS-2019 for J-1 visa holders should contain a signature from our office, not more than one year old as of the date of your intended return.”
Galinat said that travel can always be stressful for international students and that the office of international students and university as a whole were there to support students. He stated that the best practice was to arrive on campus ahead of the inauguration to sleep off jet lag, move back into dorms and get ready for classes.
Galinat stated that other universities with different start dates may have a tougher time with messaging as residential dorms may not be open.
“At UConn, we are very lucky that what makes the best academic success also makes the most immigration sense,” Galinat said.