Foreign Students Advised to Return to US Early

Colleges across the US are advising foreign students on winter break to adjust their travel plans and be back on campus before Jan. 20, reports NPR. The date is no coincidence: It happens to be President-elect Trump's inauguration, and Trump has promised a crackdown on immigration. "While there's no certainty such orders will be issued, the safest way to avoid any challenges is to be physically present in the U.S. before the Spring semester" starts, reads an email sent out by the University of Southern California, per Axios. The outlet counts at least 10 major universities that have sent similar warnings.

Among them are Cornell, Harvard, UMass, and Penn, reports the New York Times. In his first term, Trump put in place travel restrictions related to Muslim-majority nations that left thousands of students stranded, notes the newspaper. In its warning, Cornell warned foreign students that a "travel ban is likely to go into effect soon after inauguration" and listed countries previously affected: Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Myanmar, Sudan, Tanzania, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Somalia. This year, China and India might be added, the school says. An estimated 1.1 million foreign students are enrolled at American universities and colleges, according to NAFSA, an association of global educators. More than half of them come from India and China, per the Times. (More foreign students stories.)