‘My stomach just dropped': foreign students in panicked limbo as Trump cancels visa interviews
On Tuesday, a state department directive ordered US embassies globally to immediately stop scheduling visa interviews for foreign students while it prepares to implement expanded social media screening for all international visa applicants.
While interview appointments that were already scheduled can proceed, the announcement sparked panic among students who have yet to secure interviews. Students who spoke with the Guardian expressed anxiety over delays in visa processing that could jeopardize scholarships, on-campus housing, their ability to start classes on time – and their very academic futures.
'My stomach just dropped,' said Oliver Cropley, 27, a student at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, who is meant to attend the University of Kansas beginning this August for a year abroad.
The directive came amid a series of recent policy shifts targeting international students at US universities. This week, the Trump administration issued new measures targeting Chinese students, announcing it would focus on the visas of those studying in 'critical fields' and of students with ties to the Chinese Communist party, and implement heightened scrutiny for all future applicants from China and Hong Kong.
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security said it would immediately ban Harvard University from enrolling international students, forcing the university's international student body to either transfer or leave the country. A federal judge blocked that effort on Thursday, but its long-term outcome remains uncertain.
The changes have left many international students who are planning to come to the US for the 2025-2026 academic year scrambling and in limbo.
Cropley said that he paid all of the application fees for the US visa including the last administrative fee last week to schedule his visa interview, but he has been unable to schedule it or reach anyone at the US embassy.
'I was looking forward to Kansas. I love America, the wildlife, the culture,' Cropley said
'It has demoralized me,' Cropley said. 'It's a stressful enough process, and then to get this sort of knockback at this stage … I'm supposed to be there on August 4.'
The scholarship he received to go study in the US is also now in flux, he said, as it is contingent on him traveling.
As he awaits updates from the US embassy, Cropley said he is exploring his options – inquiring about the possibility of re-enrolling at his home university in the UK and completing the year there instead of in the US. But he said 'it's quite late' to be picking classes and modules and finding accommodation.
'I'm sort of stuck in between the two different universities with no guarantee of getting into either,' Cropley said. 'Essentially, it's just a waiting game.'
Another UK student, who has been accepted to Harvard for the fall, told the Guardian that they were in 'disbelief' over the administration's attempt to block Harvard from enrolling international students.
'In your head, you have the next kind of five years knowing where you'll be, and then suddenly, overnight, that changes,' they said, speaking anonymously out of fear their comments could affect their visa approval
The student said that their visa interview was already scheduled when the directive was issued, so they hope their interview is still going ahead.
The recent decisions by the Trump administration 'raise a lot of uncertainty for the future', they said, adding that the situation at Harvard feels 'very fragile'.
'We may still be able to go, but at any moment, that could change,' they said. 'And if you're going to this place, to do work, but your mind is consumed with a fear of how grounded you can be, will things change, that's also difficult to deal with.'
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They said that if they get their visa, they still plan on enrolling at Harvard.
The Guardian last week invited scholars in the US and students poised to study in the US to share their experiences navigating the Trump administration's recent actions targeting higher education. More than 100 people responded, many saying they were reconsidering their academic future in the country. Several international students who wrote in declined follow-up interviews with the Guardian, citing fear of repercussions.
Alfred Williamson, a Harvard undergraduate from Wales in Denmark for the summer, told Reuters this week that he fears he may not be able to return to the US. 'We're being used like pawns in the game that we have no control of,' he said. 'We're being caught in this crossfire between the White House and Harvard, and it feels incredibly dehumanising.'
Some universities have advised students who are already enrolled not to leave the US for the summer in case they won't be allowed back.
There are currently more than 1.1 million international students in the US, comprising about 6% of the US higher education population, according to the Institute of International Education. They typically pay two to three times the tuition of domestic students, and for the 2023-2024 academic year international students contributed $43.8bn to the US economy, according to Nafsa.
In a court filing on Wednesday as part of a Harvard lawsuit against the Trump administration's efforts to ban international students at the school, Maureen Martin, Harvard's director of immigration services, described 'profound fear, concern, and confusion' among students and faculty as a result of the action.
Faculty and administrators, she said, have been 'inundated' with inquiries from current international students about their status and options, and several foreign consulates in the US have contacted the university seeking clarity on how the policy affects their nationals who are enrolled.
Martin said that many international students are experiencing 'significant emotional distress that is affecting their mental health and making it difficult to focus on their studies'.
Some, she said, are avoiding graduation ceremonies for fear of immigration action, while others have canceled travel plans due to concerns they might not be allowed back into the US. 'Too many international students to count' have inquired about the possibility of transferring to another institution, she said.
Martin said that several current Harvard visa holders have also faced increased scrutiny at airports.
The Guardian reached out for comment to a number of universities with large foreign student populations. Most said they were monitoring the situation and would do what they could to support their students.
'We have a robust set of resources for our incoming and current international students, as well as contingency plans for those who might experience disruptions to their learning,' said Renata Nyul, the vice-president for communications at Northeastern University.
A spokesperson for Arizona State University, which has more than 17,000 international students, said that the university is 'monitoring the situation closely and remains committed to fully supporting all international students in completing their degree programs'.
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