Cornell University warned international students that they should arrive in the U.S. before president-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated in January, as he is expected to impose a wide-ranging travel ban as soon as he can.
A travel ban is likely to go into effect soon after inauguration. The ban is likely to include citizens of the countries targeted in the first Trump administration: Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Myanmar, Sudan, Tanzania, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Somalia. New countries could be added to this list, particularly China and India. International students and scholars from outside of these "areas of concern" are not likely to be affected by a travel ban or targeted visa suspension. People who are not citizens of these countries but are in transit through them to the U.S. are unlikely to be affected.
"It is a good idea for international students, faculty, and staff from the above countries to be back in the U.S. in advance of the semester, which begins January 21, 2025," the advisory states—and "be prepared for delays" if you cannot.
U.S. institutions host more than a million international students, per the Institute of International Education—a few thousand of them at Cornell. Immigrant-origin students made up about a third of U.S. college enrollment in 2022, with the Biden administration overseeing the largest immigration surge in U.S. history. In May 2023, Trump pledged to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants through an executive order if re-elected.