President Stanley offers guidance on Executive Order relative to entry to the U.S.

Dear members of the SUNY Oswego campus community,

I write this morning to speak to all in our campus community and especially to all of our international and immigrant students, faculty and staff and their families.  We, at SUNY Oswego honor your presence among us as learners, colleagues and scholars and want you to know we stand ready to be of service at this time. We are monitoring the implementation of the President's Executive Order entitled Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Entry into the United States by Foreign Nationals. Of particular note is Section 3 of the Executive Order, that "suspends entry into the United States" of both non-immigrants and immigrants from seven countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) for 90 days. The term "Immigrants" likely encompasses both new immigrants, even if the individual already has a visa (including J and F student / scholar visas), and also U.S. lawful permanent residents (green card holders). 

This is a new order and there is considerable uncertainty about its implications, therefore, we advise great caution on the part of our international students, faculty and staff to consider carefully any travel outside the country or consider deferring travel until there is more clarity about how the Executive Order will affect us. If students and scholars, who are nationals of one of the above countries, are planning to travel outside the United States or are currently outside the United States, we urge you to seek the advice of an experienced immigration lawyer prior to making travel plans.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has a brief practice advisory on this topic (AILA Doc. No. 17012670) and the NAFSA: Association of International Educators has issued a Travel Advisory for Nationals of Certain Countries Pursuant to Executive Order; I will continue to share resources that come available to us with our campus community.

SUNY Oswego does not have any study abroad or international education activity in these named countries, and we have no official institutional plans to travel to, or hold official programs in, these seven countries. Nevertheless, we will continue to monitor all worldwide cautions, alerts, warnings, orders, and guidance from SUNY and the United States government.

We wish all students, scholars, families, and dependents strength and determination as you seek to understand the implications of this new policy. SUNY Oswego has always been a welcome and hospitable home for international students and visitors since our founding over 150 years ago; we remain steadfast in our commitment to international students, scholars and programs for the creativity, intellectual rigor and cultural diversity you bring to our campus. I encourage you to contact the Office of International Education and Programs, 100 Sheldon Hall, isss@oswego.edu, or 315.312.2118 with any questions or concerns you may have.

Sincerely,

Deborah F. Stanley
President