Brown’s email mirrored similar advice from Yale Law School professors saying that international students abroad should consider returning to the US while those currently in the country should avoid leaving. Additionally, immigration attorneys are advising H-1B visa holders, international students and green card holders to avoid travelling overseas unless absolutely necessary, The Times of India reported.
Avoid traveling overseas
The reasons to avoid travelling overseas include delays in visa stamping at US consulates in the home country (for example, India), reintroduction of extreme vetting and increased cases of secondary inspection which also include detention at airports upon return to the US.
According to Kripa Upadhyay, a Seattle-based immigration attorney, foreign nationals (specifically those in need of renewing H-1B or F-1 visa stamps) should think twice about leaving the United States at this point.
The US Department of State has updated the eligibility requirements for interview waiver (dropbox) appointments, making it more difficult for applicants to renew their visas.
Previously, applicants could be eligible for an interview waiver if they had received a non-immigrant visa in any category (excluding B guest visas) and applied within 48 months of its expiration.
According to the updated guidelines, dropbox is only applicable to individuals renewing a visa in the same non-immigrant category that has expired within the previous 12 months. For instance, international students with an F-1 visa who need an H-1B visa must now wait for an interview slot and H-1B holders requiring extensions must also wait if their earlier visa was issued over 12 months ago, Upadhyay added.
Speaking with TOI, Snehal Batra, managing attorney at NPZ Law Group, said that delays brought on by the availability of visa appointments are just one aspect of the issue. “We know of individuals who are stuck in administrative processing for no apparent reason other than additional scrutiny and security clearances.
“This should not have happened, if the individual has been previously approved for a visa multiple times. I think we can expect to see ‘extreme vetting’ similar to the tenure of the earlier Trump administration.”
Even after the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has approved an H-1B visa, the consular officer can still decline the visa and return the application to USCIS for re-adjudication. Upadhyay added that in such cases, employees outside the US may be stuck for 4 to 6 months or more before returning to the country.
Rajiv S Khanna, managing attorney at Immigration.com, said that if travel is essential, visa applicants and their employers should try to make contingency plans in case of late stamping, like continuing to work from their home country.
Immigration attorneys are reporting an increase in the number of green card holders, including Indians, being subjected to secondary scrutiny, including overnight detention at ports of entry (airports), by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials. Additionally, some are even being pressured to surrender their green cards voluntarily.
For individuals living in the United States, many of whom have had green cards for decades but have not applied for American citizenship; attorneys advise them to obtain American passports as soon as possible and to avoid travelling until they do.
Controversial Brown University deportation
Meanwhile, with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown progressing nearly unfettered, Brown University issued a travel advisory for its international students, faculty and staff members following the deportation of one of its assistant professors to Lebanon. Dr Rasha Alaweih, who had travelled to Lebanon recently, was deported despite holding a valid H-1B visa, along with a court order blocking the repatriation.
On Monday, US authorities reportedly said she was deported after they discovered “sympathetic photos and videos” of slain former Hezbollah chief, Hassan Nasrallah, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the deleted items folder of her smartphone. The US government claimed the court order favouring Alaweih’s position was not communicated to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents.
Brown University’s travel advisory for foreign students
The deportation drew widespread attention. In its travel advisory, the university administration urged international students and staff members to reconsider any plans of foreign travel due to the prevailing uncertainty around American immigration policies.
The US State Department, meanwhile, has also issued travel advisories for Americans travelling to other countries. The department has suggested its people not to travel to South Sudan, adding anyone travelling to Chad or Pakistan must reconsider their plans.
It has also asked people travelling to Kenya, Equatorial Guinea and Djibouti to “exercise increased caution.”
