International students hopeful after U.S. eases travel restrictions

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UPDATED: May 3, 2021 at 10:55 a.m.

Many Syracuse University international students may finally have the opportunity to return to campus for a full in-person semester for the first time since the pandemic arrived in the U.S.

Since last year, travelers who have been to China, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Europe’s Schengen area in the past 14 days have been prohibited from entering the U.S. International students who have left the U.S. previously could not return for school without lengthy quarantines in another country.

The U.S. Department of State announced Monday that, starting Aug. 1, all individuals who hold F-1 student visas and J-1 exchange visitor visas are exempt from certain travel restrictions and may enter the U.S. for academic programs that start within 30 days of arrival.

There are approximately over 1,000 SU students currently studying away from the U.S. due to the travel restrictions, said Juan Tavares, director of the Center for International Services at SU.

“(The news) that the U.S. government relaxed travel restrictions in this fashion is benefiting a tremendous number of our students,” Tavares said.

SU international students who have been subject to the current travel restrictions said they welcome the decision, which will reduce the cost associated with returning to campus.

Yitong Liu, a sophomore psychology major who has gone home to China, had already decided to come back to SU this fall. The new policy will save her a 14-day quarantine in another country.

“I felt happy for a lot of my friends,” Liu said. “A lot of them had been pretty anxious before the announcement was made.”

Linxuan Xu, a freshman architecture student at SU, is planning to return home to Beijing, China over the summer. This would be her first time home since she graduated from high school near Boston. 

Stranded in the U.S. for about a year and a half, the academic pressure and homesickness took a toll on Xu’s mental health. She hopes to take better care of herself back home and spend more time with her family, Xu said. 

“I felt kind of relieved after hearing about the announcement,” Xu said. “Because I can finally see some progress here, some optimistic policies between China and the states.”

Despite the eased restrictions, hurdles remain for many incoming international students who still have to apply for their student visas to enter the U.S. Right now, only about 40% of U.S. consulates are routinely scheduling visa interviews, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported Tuesday.

The new policy will save several students from having to quarantine before returning to campus in the fall. Francis Tang | Staff Writer

The number of SU international students who haven’t been able to obtain a visa still remains high, Tavares said, and he hopes the visa processing in China will resume in mid-May. Right now, fewer than 20 flights are operating routinely from China to the U.S. every week.

“I think we are on the right direction. I don’t necessarily think it’s going to get worse than it has been. It’s going to continue to get better,” Tavares said.

SU announced in early April that it will require all students and employees to get vaccinated prior to the fall 2021 semester. The Center for International Services is working closely with the staff at the Barnes Center at The Arch to clarify whether SU will allow students to receive COVID-19 vaccines from foreign providers to fulfill the vaccine requirement, Tavares said.

SU has provided study abroad options for students to take classes locally in their home countries. Some Chinese students are planning to obtain their visas in Singapore, but they would be subject to travel restrictions getting there.

Xu’s F-1 visa expires at the end of May. If she returns home for the summer and wants to return to SU, she will need to attend an in-person interview to obtain a new visa. Since the U.S. Embassy and consulates in China haven’t resumed the visa application process, it will be challenging for her to do so. 

“I’ll wait and see,” Xu said. “Hopefully, there will always be a way to come back.”

This post was updated with additional reporting.