Trump’s limits on international visas unnerve Chinese students in US

A suspension of foreign work visa programmes and a new bar on foreign students at schools with online classes are just the latest restrictions

‘My sense of crisis has been building for a while,’ one recent graduate says

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A nearly deserted Widener Library at Harvard University last month. Recent actions by the Trump administration have shaken Chinese students in the US, who now find their plans to study and work in the country disrupted. Photo: AP

Published: 4:53am, 8 Jul 2020Updated: 6:11pm, 16 Apr 2025

2025 update: An interviewee in this article has been anonymised in light of the political climate for the Chinese community during US President Donald Trump’s second term

When US President Donald Trump suspended foreign work visa programmes through the end of the year, he rattled a wide swathe of the Chinese community in America, with many regarding the move as a harbinger of more drastic measures to come.

Trump’s executive order last month doesn’t affect those now in the United States – but those with visas worry they will one day be deprived of their legal status. And Chinese students in the country – nearly 370,000 – face new uncertainty about their academics and future employment.

They were right to worry. A new measure announced by the US government on Monday – potentially expelling international students if their schools, which are trying to restart in the middle of a pandemic, shift to online classes – shows how vulnerable they are.

“I know whatever [Trump] does is going to be detrimental,” says Darren, a recent graduate. “My sense of crisis has been building for a while.”

US President Donald Trump’s executive order suspending foreign work visa programmes through the end of the year has rattled the Chinese community in America. Photo: AP

He is not directly affected by Trump’s newest policies but, like many others, he senses a looming threat.

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