International students are being urged to return to the US before President-elect Donald Trump takes office

More than a million students from other countries study at colleges and universities here in the United States.

Many of these international students are on winter break back in their home countries right now, and immigration lawyers are advising them to return quickly before the second Trump administration begins.

Both the University of Houston and Rice University will start up again before Commencement Day on January 20.

But officials from both universities encourage international students to return when school starts, in part to avoid travel or immigration problems.

Across the country, college administrators are reaching out to international students amid questions about what might happen after Inauguration Day, as President Trump has vowed to end immigration programs to our country.

As of this year, the University of Houston has more than 5,000 international students, making up just over 10% of the student body.

At Rice University, 14% of students are international, representing 113 countries, and the vast majority of these international students are in graduate programs.

“We expect the new administration to adopt travel bans, especially with countries where there may be customs involved like Canada, Mexico, China, some Middle Eastern countries, especially Iran, maybe northern Africa,” immigration attorney Mana Yegani explained. “You need to make sure everything is bulletproof. All your papers are in order. You’ve registered for your classes completely. Your VISAs are valid. It’s not a few days before expiration.”

Yegani and other immigration attorneys advise international students to travel with as much documentation as possible and consider canceling future trips out of the country while studying here.

“Having a VISA doesn’t mean you’re safe. If you remember back in 2017 when there was a travel ban, a lot of people who had visas were turned away or some of the airlines wouldn’t give boarding passes to come to the United States,” Yegani explained.

According to the US State Department, students from China and India make up more than half of all international students in the US.

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