Updated: March 6, 2017
On March 6, the White House issued a revised Executive Order, which replaced its original Order of January 27, 2017. The new order goes into effect at 12:01am, EST, on March 16, 2017.
There are a few key differences to the revised order which should mitigate its impact on many -- though not all – members of the NYU community.
- Iraq is no longer included in the order; it currently applies to nationals of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, and will be in effect for at least 90 days.
- The revised Order explicitly exempts U.S. Permanent Residents, so any Green Card holders from those six countries should be unaffected.
- The revised order explicitly exempts dual passport holders who are traveling on a passport from an unrestricted country.
- The revised order exempts any individual who currently holds a valid visa, which means nationals of the six countries should be able to travel to and from the United States as long as their visa is current. There is one important exception: If you are in the U.S. on a single-entry visa, you will likely face challenges in receiving a new visa should you leave the country while the Order is in effect.
Despite the language in the new order, we still strongly encourage nationals from the six countries to consult with NYU’s Office of Global Services, and to complete their International Travel Form, prior to departing – or attempting to enter – the United States.
While this order contains a number of improvements, significant problems remain.
For one, it will present specific difficulties for those students who were hoping to secure US work visas following their graduation.
And more broadly, we are concerned about the message this order sends to the rest of the world. The US has long been respected for the quality of its colleges and universities – it is the international "gold standard" for higher education – and for their accessibility. This tradition has enabled us to attract the world’s leading students and scholars to our shores, making our universities better, fueling our local, state, and federal economies, and amplifying the effect of our cultural diplomacy efforts. Taken together, this yields enormous dividends to all involved.
As we did after the initial order was released, we are reviewing avenues for potential legal recourse and advocacy efforts. We will continue to do everything possible to protect members of our community, and to demonstrate that we are a community in which everyone is welcome.
And as previously announced, NYU has also launched a new Immigrant Defense Initiative, coordinated through the Law School’s Immigrant Rights Clinic, in partnership with Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP. The Initiative provides NYU students and staff who are at risk of deportation with confidential advice and legal representation. You can contact the Initiative at (212) 998-6640 (voicemail) or immigrant.defense@law.nyu.edu to schedule an appointment.