USC is “closely monitoring” new federal policies impacting international students who are applying for a student visa or already have one and is “actively working” to support affected students, the Office of International Services wrote on its website.

International students make up roughly 24% of USC’s student population, around 50% of which are from China.

In a June 4 presidential proclamation, President Donald Trump announced restrictions or limited entry of nationals from 19 countries to “protect the United States from foreign terrorists and other national security and public safety threats.” 

Immigrants from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen are fully banned from entering the country while those from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela are partially restricted.

OIS sent messages to students impacted by the imposed restrictions and said it will continue to “communicate directly” with those students on its website.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave United States embassies a directive to pause new student visa appointments in a May 27 cable obtained by the Associated Press and in a May 28 statement described a policy to “aggressively revoke” visas for some Chinese international students. Almost half of the University’s international student population, roughly 6,000 students, are from China. 

Rubio’s statement read that the visa revocations will include those studying “critical fields” or with connections to the Chinese Communist Party. He also wrote that there will be “enhance[d]” criteria for evaluating student visa applicants from China in the future. Rubio didn’t specify what the criteria would be or which fields would be targeted.

Later on May 28, President Carol Folt stood behind international students in an Instagram statement and wrote they are “vital members” of the USC community.

“Their joy, excitement and talent enrich our student experience and extends leadership capacity and economic prosperity from our region to the world. Their warmth, cultures and humanity enrich the global tapestry of LA,” Folt wrote. “This is a confusing time, and as we understand more we’ll communicate directly with our incoming students with further guidance.”

In April, OIS advised international students to carefully consider travel plans and exercise caution in their online presence in an email to international students because of the new social media screening procedures.

Failure to enroll in classes or report arrival in the U.S., unauthorized employment, or insufficient course load may result in termination of Student and Exchange Visitor Information System records, according to a guide posted to Instagram by USC’s International Student Assembly on May 6. 

SEVIS is an information system that tracks and monitors nonimmigrant and exchange student records. It identifies violators of student visas and could terminate SEVIS records, meaning the student is no longer legally allowed in the U.S.

Termination of SEVIS can lead to an immediate loss of legal status, an order to leave the country immediately and cancelled work authorization, according to the post. SEVIS terminations are permanently recorded and could affect future applications.

ISA also advised students to carefully follow travel procedures, attend all required orientation and check-ins, keep documents updated, and get a travel signature before leaving the U.S.