Dear colleague,
We have learned that the visa status of at least 12 Rutgers undergraduate and graduate students has been unilaterally changed by federal authorities, along with students from other universities. We expect this number to grow in the coming weeks. This latest cruel and unconscionable assault by the Trump administration demands a response from all of us.
In this email, we want to first address—as best we can in a rapidly changing situation—the urgent questions of international students, faculty, and staff who are facing an immediate threat. But we ask everyone to be familiar with the answers to these questions, so you can share and discuss them—and to read all the way through the email to learn what we can all do to support international colleagues.
- How will I know that my visa status has been changed?
You may learn about a problem with your student visa status in one of at least two ways. One is through notification to Rutgers’ DSO (Designated School Official) about the termination of your record in SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems), the government database that tracks international students’ compliance with their F-1 or J-1 status. The other is through direct notification about changes in your visa status from the US embassy or consulate that issued your visa, sent to the registered email address used to apply for the F-1 or other non-immigrant visa. If you are a graduate student, your graduate program director may also be notified of any status change.
RU Global is proactively checking the SEVIS system for student visa holders to look for changes in status and will inform you if it identifies a change in the SEVIS system. You may also receive an email from the US Consulate or Embassy that issued your visa, so if you used a third party to assist with the securing of your visa, make sure to contact them (or RU Global) to see if there has been a status change. - What should I do if my visa has been revoked and/or my SEVIS record has been terminated?
Termination of status in SEVIS and revocation of a student visa are two different but overlapping issues. The termination of a SEVIS record effectively ends a student’s F-1 or J-1 status. On the other hand, the visa controls a student’s ability to re-enter the United States after a departure. There may be legal grounds to challenge both a SEVIS termination or a visa revocation, so it is important to seek legal advice from the Rutgers Immigrant Community Assistance Project for legal assistance. Also, contact your union at aaup@rutgersaaup.org so we can provide other support. If applicable, you should also contact your program director/dean, advisor, and/or PI. - If my visa has been revoked or my SEVIS record terminated, how much time do I have before making a decision about whether to leave the country?
These are difficult individual decisions each visa holder would need to make in consultation with RU Global and immigration counsel. Students can consult with the Rutgers Immigrant Community Assistance Project or their own private counsel. For general information about this and related questions, you may find this website useful. - Does my family need to leave if my visa has been revoked or my SEVIS record has been canceled?
As we said above, these difficult decisions should be made in consultation with RU Global and immigration counsel. - Can I continue to make progress toward my degree if my visa is revoked?
The revocation of a visa or a SEVIS termination by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement does not automatically trigger a cancellation of enrollment. Our union has sent a number of demands to the university administration to pressure them to allow continuing progress toward degrees in every instance possible. This includes committing to continued funding for students whose status has changed and mounting all relevant legal challenges to visa revocations occurring without due process or prior communication with the university. We also strongly encourage students in this situation to contact both their departments and our union (email aaup@rutgersaaup.org) for more information and resources related to this question. - What can departments and individual faculty do for students in this situation?
Reach out to your international students and ask them how they are doing. Create private, secure chat groups with your department’s students to share resources with them and hold space for their questions. Have a plan of action regarding students’ safety and their degree continuation and completion if their visa is revoked and/or SEVIS record terminated. Please consider offering work opportunities to international students with stable visa status who may be in need; email aaup@rutgersaaup.org if you’d like to speak to union members and staff about this. - Where can I go for other resources?
You can find other resources we’ve identified by clicking here. In particular, see the “Know Your Rights” Q&As in the case of encounters with federal authorities. We have also transferred this Q&A to our union website and will keep the information updated. Our union’s International Workers Solidarity Committee meets every other week. If you would like to attend the committee meeting tomorrow (Thursday, April 10) at 10:30 a.m., click here to register for the Zoom link.
If you do not face the immediate threat that your international colleagues do, here are some suggestions for how to show your solidarity and support:
- Check in with your international colleagues and ask them how they are doing.
- Read up on legal regulations that impact international workers and the answers given above, so international workers are not explaining the issues to you.
- Read the demands for a sanctuary campus and protections for international scholars drafted by the International Workers Solidarity Committee and adopted by the executive bodies of both our unions.
- Get involved in the International Workers Solidarity Committee—you can fill out this Get Involved form and indicate your area of interest in the final question.
- If you are a faculty member with research money and have work you need done this summer: when the semester ends, there are likely to be grad students who cannot or choose not to travel home or for field work. Please consider offering work opportunities to international students with a stable visa status who may be in need; email aaup@rutgersaaup.org if you’d like to speak to union members and staff about this. Even if you don’t personally have such funds, reach out to Graduate Program Directors and/or senior tenured faculty to help coordinate a response within your department.
The Trump administration is trying to terrorize us all into silence. This makes it all the more important that those of us whose status (at Rutgers and in the country as a whole) is more secure speak out. We’re proud that hundreds of our members joined the “Hands Off!” protests in New York City and elsewhere last weekend—and that our rally in Newark yesterday drew 150 people from more than a dozen unions statewide to hear international and local union leaders and local political leaders as featured speakers.
Our organizing will continue. Please add your name to our union petition (if you haven’t already) that calls on the Rutgers administration to protect the jobs and livelihoods of the people who make our university work (note that there is an option to ask that your name not be made public). Be sure to check the boxes to tell us if you want to be involved in canvassing for the petition and other means of engaging with your colleagues. We need to mobilize the full membership of our unions to stop the attacks!
In solidarity,
Rutgers AAUP-AFT and Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union
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