Dear Graduate Students and Postdocs,

As you are aware, President Trump recently signed an executive order that suspends entry visas for citizens of Syria, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Sudan, and Yemen for 90 days. This action is a serious concern to our university, including our graduate and postdoc community. On behalf of the Graduate College, I want to assure you that we are working with campus leadership to support and protect our international graduate students and postdocs.

Our community is a global one – global in its membership and global in its impact. As a preeminent university, we embrace diversity in all of its dimensions and open our doors to the talented students and scholars who chose to pursue their graduate education and scholarly work on our campus.

President Killeen and campus leadership explained in an earlier email that the international students, faculty, staff, postdocs, and visiting scholars who join our community have already been thoroughly vetted through the visa and immigration process. They are part of our Illinois family.

Implementation of the executive order is dependent on varying interpretations by immigration officials, subsequent statements by the Trump Administration, and legal action. Our campus is working diligently to answer questions and provide information to assist those impacted by the executive order.

At this time, I want to reiterate the university’s recommendation that citizens from the countries listed above avoid traveling outside the U.S. until there is a further assessment of the new policy. Furthermore, friends and family members from the seven countries are advised not to travel to the U.S. at this time. The university will continue to carefully monitor this situation and provide updates as we receive them.

Information about support services and University practices, including whom to contact with questions, is posted at https://uofi.illinois.edu/blog/view/7019/457316

Information and updates will also published on the Graduate College website at www.grad.illinois.edu/need-help.

If you are a graduate student affected by the executive order, please feel free to contact the Graduate College. Likewise, if you are aware of a graduate student who is impacted, please let us know so that we can reach out to the student. We can be reached at:

The Graduate College
204 Coble Hall
801 S. Wright Street
Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: 217-333-0035
Email: grad@illinois.edu

Again, I cannot stress enough how much pride we take in all of our graduate students and postdocs, and how much we embrace, celebrate, and value our diverse, inclusive, and global community.

 

Sincerely,

Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko

Dean, Graduate College