Colleagues,

On June 4, the White House issued a presidential proclamation restricting, in whole or in part, the entry of foreign nationals from 12 countries. A week prior, the Department of State issued a pause in the processing of student visa applications. Further limitations or disruptions to the entry into, transit through, and study within the United States for our international students and scholars may follow.

CHASS is committed to supporting its international students and scholars, and we will continue monitoring the situation. In close dialogue with the Graduate Division and Academic Senate, CHASS is actively looking at the tools at our disposal to ensure continuity of education for current and future international students. 

Last week, we received the following guidance from UCR’s Office for International Students and Scholars (ISS):

• There are no incoming students in CHASS from the first list of countries under total or partial entry restrictions. However, a number of current students are impacted.
• ISS has suggested “do not travel” advice to all internationals at UCR, especially those from countries affected by the June 4 proclamation.
• In the case of students seeking representation, ISS informed us that UCOP has engaged outside counsel to assist international students. Legal assistance is limited and will be provided on a case-by-case basis. There may be fees. The process is to send an email to internationalstudents@ucr.edu. They are the ones referring the students to the UC immigrant legal team, from where they can be referred to the outside counsel.

At this time, we have no concrete detail on the impact on the suspension of visa interviews, but we can anticipate that some of the PhD and MFA students who have accepted an admission offer for the incoming Fall 2025 cohort will face uncertainty and delay in securing the authorization necessary to travel to the United States and to begin their studies at UCR. One option for the programs is to work with the College on a case-by-case decision about deferred admission for Winter 2026.

Working within policy, we will consider individual requests for adjustments to current progress to degree for current students or deferred matriculation for new students, understanding that there must be explicit dean’s approval to modify or delay any multi-year funding package. 

Departments will receive individual communications regarding their particular situations.

Covadonga Lamar Prieto
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs