July 13, 2018 Message from Associate Provost for International Programs
As you know, on June 26, 2018 the US Supreme Court ruling upheld the Travel Ban, determining that it was a lawful exercise of the President's authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act. This ruling codified the amended restrictions that were issued by the President on April 10, 2018 updated the Travel Ban issued on September 24, 2017. The seven countries that remain subject to travel restrictions are Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. The April 10 amendments removed visa restrictions imposed on nationals of Chad.
Unlike, the September 24, 2017 version of the Travel Ban, exceptions for students on F and J visas have now been removed except for Iranian citizens, or in the case of a waiver. The existence of "The Waiver" was an essential element considered by the Supreme Court contributing to their ruling. For an excellent story about how these waivers work in reality I encourage you to listen to the story of a man from Yemen in the Embedded podcast, "The Waiver".
As this is the summer when new international students are getting ready to enter SCU I wanted to share that we have one new student from Iran; Iranian citizens may receive exceptions as students. SCU has no new international students from the other countries facing the restrictions of the Travel Ban. SCU now has 1,600 international students.
In addition to the Travel Ban, the April 18, 2017 Executive Order 13788 "Buy American and Hire American" has targeted the H-1B employer-sponsored visa program and there is the expectation that the work authorization for H-4 spouses will be eliminated. The US grants 85,000 new H-1B visas to American companies annually to hire foreign workers for specialty occupations. You may have seen this piece in US News in May, Trump H-1B Visa Restrictions Are Illegal, Tech Companies Allege in Lawsuit Against USCIS. As the H visa changes impact Silicon Valley, they impact SCU. SCU students fear the loss of H visas and as a result we have a significant increase in students seeking support from SCU under our F-1 program.
Learn more and get involved:
- Our webpage on the Travel Ban contains helpful resources and FAQs.
- Get involved supporting our global community on campus:
- Sign-up for SCU's new i-Exchange program connec
ting faculty and staff with SCU international students for conversation, a meal, or other activities - Attend a Global Community Hour, watch for 2018-19 dates TBD
- Learn more about international students
- Santa Clara University hosts approximately 1,600 international students
- In 2016 the number of international students at US colleges and universities surpassed one million for the first time - an increase of seven percent from 2015. Despite the political situation in the US, international student enrollments increase over 3% overall in 2017.
- Despite the national rhetoric, universities throughout California, and especially Silicon Valley, including SCU continue to see significant growth in our international student enrollments.
- International students contributed $39.4 billion to the US economy in 2016 according to the US Department of Commerce.
Best,
Susan