Harvard in talks with universities about admitting students affected by Donald Trump's visa restrictions

Harvard University was in talks with leading American and international universities about temporarily accommodating foreign students who are banned from college due to President Donald Trump's tough measures. This was reported by UNN with reference to the Financial Times.

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According to faculty at these institutions, leaders at the University of Chicago and the London School of Business discussed adapting students admitted to Harvard for the upcoming academic year who are now threatened with visa denials. Other U.S. universities are exploring ways to help their current and incoming international students, including by relocating them to campuses outside the country. The Trump administration has banned Harvard from accepting international students as part of its broader campaign against what it sees as liberal bias and anti-Semitism on American campuses. Last week, a judge temporarily froze the order, postponing Trump's actions.

The administration has suspended consideration of all visa applications from prospective students wishing to study anywhere in the country, tightening background checks, including through social media. It has also canceled visas and detained foreign students who it says were involved in protests, mainly against Israel over the war with Hamas in Gaza. The campaign risks cutting funding to institutions that have become dependent on tuition revenue from the more than 1.1 million foreign nationals studying in the United States. Most of these students are from China and India. The Department of Commerce estimates that foreign students generate an economic benefit of $45 billion a year.

Nafsa, a network of universities and individuals involved in international education, criticized the "unacceptable attack on an already thorough screening and monitoring process that creates an atmosphere of uncertainty and fear."

ETS chief Amit Sevak, which administers the largest English language test for international students entering U.S. universities, told the Financial Times that the number of test applications has fallen by two percent.

Now that the fall semester is just around the corner, some international students may drop out, postpone applications or transfer to other educational institutions. The most serious consequences will be in 2026

Last week, Harvard launched a new legal campaign to block Trump's latest moves to prevent it from accepting international students.

Contingency plans are being developed to allow international students and scholars to continue their work at Harvard this summer and throughout the upcoming academic year

Trump has focused his fiercest attacks on Harvard, which accepts 27 percent of its students from abroad. However, international students at universities across the country have expressed concern that if they return home for the summer, they may not be accepted again. Suzanne Rivera, president of Macalester College in Minneapolis, a fifth of whose students are international, has launched a fundraising campaign among alumni and is creating additional internships to support international students who choose not to leave the U.S. for the holidays.

Our concern now is that these policy changes may create obstacles that prevent students from returning to campus or new ones from entering. There is widespread fear among international students among us that if they return home, they may face difficulties re-entering, even if they have a valid visa

New York University, Northeastern University, and Hult are among the universities with campuses in other countries, allowing them to reallocate places abroad for students who are not U.S. citizens if visa delays persist. Several others have branches in Qatar. Martin Bäum, Executive Vice President of Hult International Business School, said he has not yet seen any visa issues with prospective students.

However, delegating teaching to partner universities can lead to complications due to different costs and academic standards, as well as uncertainty about whether students can receive credit for courses taken elsewhere. Grant Cornwell, president of Rollins College in Florida, where about 10 percent of students are from abroad, said that the presence of international students provides more than just financial benefits.

These perspectives enrich the class, which is directly in line with our mission: to enable students to learn with and from people who see the world differently. Both current and new students are concerned while waiting for visa appointments for new issuances and renewals. We believe this could have a negative impact in the years to come

Let us remind you

Donald Trump signed a decree banning most foreign students planning to study at Harvard from entering the United States. The reason is the university's alleged ties to Chinese researchers.