US associations call for students to be exempt from travel ban

The consortium of associations, led by the American Council on Education (ACE), have written to Secretary of State Marco Rubio requesting that F, M and J visa students be exempt from entry restrictions.

The latest travel ban was introduced by a Presidential Proclamation on June 4th, and includes a full entry ban on 12 countries as well as a partial ban – including for F, M and J non-immigrant visa categories – on a further seven nations.

Iran is by far the largest source market affected by the travel ban. There were 12,430 international students from Iran at higher education colleges and universities in the USA in the 2023/24 academic year, a 15 per cent increase over the previous year.

The travel ban currently affects 19 countries.

Other countries in the full ban include Afghanistan, Myanmar, Libya, the Republic of Congo and Somalia, while the partial ban list includes Cuba, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

In the letter, the associations highlight that under the travel ban that operated from 2017 to 2021 during President Trump’s previous period in office, international students were exempt.

The associations said that international students already receive a thorough vetting through the application and interview process for student visas, which now includes additional social media screening measures, and that once in the USA international students are tracked through the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).

Recent estimates by NAFSA that new international student enrolment may decrease by as much as 40 per cent in the forthcoming academic year, which would result in a loss of US$7 billion to the economy, were cited in the letter to the Secretary.

“Given the impact of students on the US economy, as well as the existing high level of vetting and additional monitoring of international students, we ask that non-immigrants on F, J, and M visas be exempted under the June 2025 travel ban. We stand ready to be a resource and partner in welcoming international students to the United States and to our institutions of higher education,” the associations said.

“We understand and embrace the need to appropriately vet international students and look forward to working with you on these important issues.”

Click here to access the letter to Secretary Rubio by Ted Mitchell, President of the American Council on Education.

Associations that also signed the letter include the American Association of Colleges and Universities, the American Association of Community Colleges, the Council of Graduate Schools, the Council of Independent Colleges, NAFSA Association of International Educators , the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), and the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration.