We have limited details on the May 29 EO, which suspended entry of certain students from the People’s Republic of China if they “implemented or supported” China’s “military-civil fusion strategy.” We know that the EO will be implemented at the consular level—meaning that consular officers will be assessing visa applications for F-1 and J-1 graduate students and post-graduate researchers to determine if they are or have been affiliated with an institution connected to China’s Military Civil Fusion (MCF) strategy.

If an affiliation is found, the consular official will next determine whether the field of study is one related to U.S. national security concerns. If both are true, the consular officer may deny the visa under the terms of 212(f) of the Immigration and National Act. Unfortunately, the U.S. Department of State will not make public the list of institutions or the fields of study that will be used in order to make visa determinations, but they anticipate that this targeted approach will not impact the majority of visa applicants.

As these executive orders move forward, the International Services team and the Office of Federal Relations will be monitoring closely, and we will post regular updates if new information comes in.

All our best in these challenging times,

Wendy Wolford, Vice Provost for International Affairs
Brandon Lanners, Executive Director, Office of Global Learning
Laura Taylor, Senior Associate Director, International Services, Office of Global Learning