Information for international students and scholars related to federal government updates and policies.

University of California President Michael V. Drake issued guidance and resources for international and undocumented students and employees. Please read his statement and guidance in this update.

As you know, here at the University of California, Davis, we are committed to building a diverse community of students, scholars, faculty, and staff. This includes the over 10,000 international students and scholars we welcome to campus from around the world. Changing government rules regarding the definition of persons considered a “public charge” have created much uncertainty among our international community. We hope that the following summary will provide you with an introduction to this issue.  

On Tuesday, December 8, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) provided an update for winter and spring 2021 academic terms, directing F-1 nonimmigrant students to continue to follow previous SEVP guidelines originally issued in March 2020 and used for fall 2020.

On Friday, September 25, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published in the Federal Register a proposed rule to eliminate duration of status (D/S) for F-1 students and J-1 scholars and students, including their dependents, and proposes to set an expiration date for their authorized stay. The rule change document is over 200 pages, and right now we are working to understand the details, and the best way to respond and to protect international students and scholars.  We will post more information as soon as we can on the SISS website.

On May 29, 2020, President Donald Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation effective June 1, 2020, that suspends entry into the United States for some researchers and students at the graduate level and higher on F or J visas.

The federal government has canceled plans to adopt and enforce new Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) guidelines and related FAQs for fall 2020, which were announced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on July 6 and July 7, respectively.

On October 8, 2018, SISS hosted a panel presentation to discuss UCSIS changes in counting days of unlawful presence. This page contains questions from international students, scholars and UC Davis staff and answers from the panel of Services for International Students and Scholars advisors.

On June 22, 2020, President Donald Trump issued the “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak.” This proclamation continues Proclamation 10014 of April 22, 2020, impacting nonimmigrant visas. This prohibits foreign nationals from entering the United States on H, L, and some J visas. The UC Davis community may have questions regarding this proclamation. Services for International Students and Scholars (SISS) has addressed some below.

On April 22, 2020, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation, effective April 23, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. (ET), restricting entry into the United States for certain immigrants. This proclamation does not affect Legal Permanent Residents (LPR/Green Card holders), or those who currently have a nonimmigrant visa such as F-1, J-1, TN, E-3, O-1 or H1-B. It is our understanding that the processing of petitions such as Forms I-140 (the petition for alien workers) and I-485 (adjustment of status to LPR for individuals in the US) are not affected by the proclamation.

An earlier Presidential Proclamation from March suspending the entry of most non-U.S. nationals entering the United States from select countries has been updated to include Brazil.

Effective August 9, 2018, USCIS made fundamental changes to its policy on how an immigration status violation might lead to a student and scholar not being allowed to enter the United States for a number of years or permanently.

The University of California opposes limits on the free flow of students, faculty, scholars and researchers that are at the core of the University’s education, research, and public service missions.  As such, the Trump Administration’s executive orders are anathema to advancing knowledge and international cooperation.  

The new Executive Order includes information about waivers to the suspension of US entry to nationals from the list of 6 countries by US Custom and Border Protections (CBP) or consular officers on a case-by-case basis, requiring demonstration of “undue hardship” and determination that entry “would not pose a threat to national security and would be in the national interest.”

Information regarding the June 26, 2018 decision of the Supreme Court of the United States to uphold Presidential Proclamation 9645, which was issued on September 24, 2017. The Presidential Proclamation 9645 provides country-specific entry restrictions for citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, North Korea, Venezuela, and Somalia.