The international-student community remained unconvinced about unrestricted travel as President Trump?s revised executive order on was announced Monday.
The new order makes two changes relevant to international students. It removes Iraq from the travel ban, leaving six countries on the list -- Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, and Libya -- from entering the United States.
And it removes green card holders, or non-citizen permanent residents, from the ban, allowing them to travel without restriction in and out of the U.S.
"The new order signed today ... [applies] only to foreign nationals outside the United States who do not have a valid visa," said Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly. "It is important to note that nothing in this executive order effects current lawful permanent residents or persons with current authorization to enter our country."
"If you have a current valid visa to travel, we welcome you," .
After the first travel ban was issued on January 27, numerous students were stopped, detained or rejected at the border. While there are in the U.S., a number that has nearly doubled in the past decade, about 15,000 international students are affected by the travel ban.
Of those, , which is among the six countries that continues to be affected by the travel ban.
"As an Iranian, this order is going to cause many serious problems since I am also seeking a postdoctoral position here in U.S. and have already found a position in one of the best universities in my field," said a Fulbright fellow at University of California-Davis.
"So now I have to choose from staying in U.S. like a prisoner and pursuing my research, or going back to visit my family. And then there is no guarantee to have a chance to come back and finish my studies," the student wrote in an email. "The situation is completely unsure and all Iranian students are in doubt and under stress."
Peter Asaad, and partner at Quarles and Brady in Washington, advised that "although the Executive Order purportedly will not automatically invalidate current unexpired visas, individuals from the six countries should be advised to refrain from exiting the U.S. when possible."
"And those outside the U.S. should seek to enter as soon as possible until there is greater clarity," he said.
Notable universities have pushed back and announced that they will protect and assist their international students in freely traveling and continuing their academics.
?Regardless whether current and pending executive actions affect access to the U.S. for anyone from designated countries, [State University of New York at] Buffalo is a welcoming campus for students, faculty and visitors from across the globe, and is committed to remaining so,? .
in support of a federal lawsuit against the first travel ban on February 3. They included Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis University, Harvard College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, Tufts College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Following that, filed legal papers February 13 against the first ban , calling it . They included Brown, Columbia, Harvard, John Hopkins, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Yale.
"The new travel ban will surely get litigated," said Asaad. "The court will look at whether there is a rational basis for the travel ban which may again stop the president's action under the same rationale as the Washington District Court's nationwide ban."
Students took to social media to air their opinions.
"There have been more deaths from vending machines falling over than from the nationals of 6 muslim-majority countries," , a student at the University of Texas-Dallas, in response to the latest executive order. He included a graphic showing more deaths by vending machine than terrorists in the U.S.
The U.S. green card is available to international students who show exceptional ability in the sciences, arts or business and who can certify that they have a job offer. The U.S. limits those EB-2 visas to 40,000 holders each year. Students may obtain a green card through family channels, as well, by being the spouse, minor child, married or unmarried son or daughter, or brother or sister of U.S. citizens who is 21 or older.
They may also be priority workers through an EB-1 visa if they have extraordinary abilities or are outstanding professors or researchers on a tenure track position.