News
On May 28, the Department of State announced plans to revoke visas for some Chinese students, including those with "connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields." "Critical fields" were not identified in the announcement.
For many years, institutions that host J-1 Exchange Visitors have been required to report serious situations involving J-1/J-2 exchange visitors to the Department of State. J-1 Exchange Visitors at U-M include both J-1 students and J-1 scholars.
Media outlets are reporting that the U.S. Department of State has temporarily paused making new visa appointments available for F and J students and scholars until it issues further guidance on an expansion of social media screening and vetting of student and scholar visa applicants. Reports say this pause does not affect those who have already scheduled interviews.
The University of Michigan has not received an official announcement about this from the State Department.
In mid-May, the Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program began to send some F-1 students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) a letter titled “Student and Exchange Visitor Program: Notice of Failure to Report Optional Practical Training Employer and Exceeding Permissible Period of Unemployment." This letter advises students they’ve “been participating in Optional Practical Training (OPT) for more than 90 days but have not reported any employer information.” The n
In an effort to increase its screening and vetting of individual beneficiaries, USCIS may request that a beneficiary of a pending H-1B petition appear for a "biometrics" appointment at a designated USCIS Application Support Center for the collection of a digital picture, signature and fingerprints.
On January 29, 2025, Executive Action 13899, entitled “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism”, was signed by the President of the United States. The executive action specifically mentions “alien students or staff”. “Alien”, a term that has been recently re-introduced, refers to anyone who is not a citizen or a national of the United States.
At this point, there are no specific travel restrictions for green card holders at U-M to be aware of, though they may be implemented in the future.** As you can imagine, we're following the developments in this area quite closely and we appreciate the anxiety felt by Legal Permanent Residents who are considering traveling abroad.