U.S. Executive Order
Concerning the U.S. Executive Order: "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States" (revised and reissued March 6).
The revised order was scheduled to take effect March 16, 2017, but the U.S. District Court of Hawaii on March 29 issued a preliminary injunction that effectively blocks the implementation of certain sections of the Executive Order for the present time. The injunction is under appeal.
Page updated March 30, 2017
Among its directives, the new, revised order issued on March 6, 2017, suspends for a period of 90 days from the order's effective date (March 16, 2017), the entry into the United States by foreign nationals from six designated countries--Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen (Iraq was one of the countries names in the original order, but was excluded from the newest order) who:
- are outside the United States on the effective date of the order;
- did not have a valid visa at 5:00 p.m., eastern standard time on January 27, 2017; and
- do not have a valid visa on March 16, 2017
Several exceptions and waivers are described in the order--see below.
Am I subject to the suspension?
If you are a student from one of the designated six countries already in the United States and studying at Lamar University, you are not affected by the order so long as you maintain a valid visa.
What are the exceptions?
- any lawful permanent resident of the United States;
- any foreign national who is admitted to or paroled into the United States on or after March 16, 2017
- any foreign national who has a document other than a visa, valid on March 16, 2017 or issued on any date thereafter, that permits him or her to travel to the United States and seek entry or admission, such as an advance parole document;
- any dual national of a country designated under section 2 of this order when the individual is traveling on a passport issued by a non-designated country;
- any foreign national traveling on a diplomatic or diplomatic-type visa, North Atlantic Treaty Organization visa, C-2 visa for travel to the United Nations, or G-1, G-2, G-3, or G-4 visa; or
- any foreign national who has been granted asylum; any refugee who has already been admitted to the United States; or any individual who has been granted withholding of removal, advance parole, or protection under the Convention Against Torture.
What are the "waivers"?
The order described certain situations in which the consular officers can use case-by-case discretionary powers to determine whether to allow entry to individuals otherwise banned from entry. To be granted a waiver, individual must prove three criteria: 1) that denial of entry would cause undue hardship; 2) that they do not pose a threat to national security; and 3) that their entry would be in the national interest. The Order provided examples under which a waiver could be granted; several of which may be relevant to our international student population:
- The foreign national has previously been admitted to the United States for a continuous period of work, study, or other long-term activity, is outside the United States on the effective date or this order, seeks to reenter the United States to resume that activity, and the denial of reentry during the suspension period would impair that activity;
- The foreign national has previously established significant contacts with the United States but is outside the United States on the effective date of this order for work, study, or other lawful activity;
- The foreign national seeks to enter the United States to visit or reside with a close family member (e.g., a spouse, child, or parent) who is a United States citizen, lawful permanent resident, or alien lawfully admitted on a valid nonimmigrant visa, and the denial of entry during the suspension period would cause undue hardship;
- The foreign national has been employed by, or on behalf of, the United States Government (or is an eligible dependent of such an employee) and the employee can document that he or she has provided faithful and valuable service to the United States Government;
- The foreign national is traveling as a United States Government-sponsored exchange visitor.
I am a Lamar student or scholar from one of the named countries and currently attending or working at Lamar. What should I do?
As you are already in the United States, we suggest that you do not travel outside the United States for the time being as the possibility exists that you would not be allowed re-entry to the United States or experience difficulties during you re-entry. At this time, the best thing you can do is to remain at Lamar and continue your studies or work.
Will the suspension end?
As stated at the beginning of this FAQ, a nationwide ban is currently in effect with regard to the implementation of this Order. However, in the event that a Federal court determines that the Order is permitted to move forward, a possible end date would be June 14, 2017 (90 days from the original effective date of the Order).
Could the suspension be extended?
There is always the possibility that the suspension for entry of the selected foreign nationals could be extended. In addition, the order compels DHS to seek additional information from other foreign countries necessary for the consideration of U.S. visas or immigrant processes abroad. In the event DHS determines that a country failed to submit such information within 50 days of the request to the country by DHS, entry by nationals from that country may also be suspended as well upon an order by the president.
I am an international student or scholar attending or working at Lamar who is NOT from one of the seven countries named in the order. Am I affected by the order in any way?
It remains to be seen because among its many directives, the newest order requires Department of Homeland Security and Department of State to analyze and scrutinize current immigration procedures to determine whether adjustments are necessary. As a result, delays in visa interviews or changes to other similar immigration processes related to your current status could occur based on that analysis.
What happens now?
We encourage you to stay updated on any direct changes to your status by monitoring the Department of Homeland Security website at www.dhs.gov and the Department of State’s U.S. Visa website at https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en.html. As with the original order, a number of legal challenges are also being pursue with regard to this Order, so stay tuned to reliable media sources such as NPR.
I am currently a Lamar student from one of the named countries. A friend from my home country is considering attending Lamar. What should I tell them?
We strongly encourage you to tell your friend to apply to Lamar for the fall 2018 semester. In theory, the suspension under the current order might be over at some point in the future. The faculty and staff of Lamar University as well as your fellow students affirm our longstanding commitment to be a welcoming, inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated and everyone feels at home.