Chinese students adjust, cancel travel plans after US universities' advisories warning potential travel ban under new US administration

After several American universities, including Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania, issued a travel alert to international students and faculty asking them to return before the new US administration takes office in January 2025 over possible re-entry issues, some Chinese students in the US have canceled their travel plans and expressed concern, the Global Times has learned.  

Some Chinese students reached by the Global Times said they had canceled their trips back to China during the Christmas holidays and rearranged other plans in the wake of the advisories. 

Cornell University's Office of Global Learning issued guidance last week to inform and assist international students, faculty and staff as "the immigration landscape is likely to change under the new presidential administration." 

"A travel ban is likely to go into effect soon after the inauguration. The ban is likely to include citizens of the countries targeted in the first Trump administration: Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Myanmar, Sudan, Tanzania, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Somalia. New countries could be added to this list, particularly China and India, per the guidance, which was released on the school's website on November 26. 

The guidance advised international students, faculty and staff from the above countries to be back in Ithaca in advance of the semester, which begins on January 21, 2025. 

A Chinese graduate student at Cornell University told the Global Times on condition of anonymity on Sunday that she had canceled a family reunion trip to avoid re-entry issues. Though her return date was before the inauguration, the student decided not to take any risks. 

"In early November email alert started circulating in chat groups. That was when I began thinking of canceling my trip," the student said. 

A PhD candidate in a non-STEM major at Cornell University told the Global Times that he does not plan to return to China during the summer holidays like before until he finishes his studies.    

The Global Times checked on websites on multiple other American universities, finding that schools including the University of Pennsylvania, Boston University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst have issued similar advisories asking international students to return prior to the presidential inauguration on January 20, 2025. 

Other students have adjusted or canceled travel plans even though their own schools did not issue a travel alert yet. A student at Duke University told the Global Times on condition of anonymity that she had just canceled a holiday trip outside the US in case of re-entry problems. 

"I don't know what will actually happen after January 20 [2025], but the chilling effect is real and precautions are necessary," the Duke student said.   

China is no longer the top source of international students in the US for the first time in about 15 years, giving its place to India, according to the annual survey by the Institute of International Education (IIE), a report sponsored by the US State Department, released on November 18. 

Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, attributed the trend partly to a hostile political atmosphere.