NOTE: The information below was accurate at the time of posting. For the most up-to-date information about this issue, please visit the Office of Global Affairs site.
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision allowing the travel ban imposed by Executive Order to go into partial effect. Under this partial implementation, individuals from the six countries listed in the Order who have a bona fide, documented relationship with the University (such as admitted students, faculty and staff members, and invited lecturers) are generally not subject to the ban imposed by the Order. (Immigration officials retain the authority to deny such individuals entry to the U.S. based on other factors.) The Court indicated it would review the case further in the fall. UW faculty staff and students seeking resources and information should keep using the Office of Global Affairs website for specific guidance and we will update that site as new information becomes available. The University of Washington continues to support all members of our global community and we remain committed to the values of cultural exchange and engagement.
Posted on March 6, 2017:
This morning, we learned that a new presidential executive order affecting travel by members of our international community has been issued. The order issued today differs from the order issued in January in several respects.
First, it is not effective until March 16, 2017. Upon that date, a 90-day ban on issuing new visas for individuals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen will take effect. Iraq has been removed from the list of covered nations. Additionally, U.S. permanent residents, as well as individuals from the affected countries who already have visas or who obtain visas prior to March 16, 2017, will not be affected.
Regardless of these changes, this news remains concerning for many in our community. I recommend that UW faculty, staff and students from these six nations seeking resources and information go to the Office of Global Affairs website to locate guidance specific to their personal circumstances. The Office of Global Affairs will be updated with any new information as we have it and will also provide guidance to units who are recruiting individuals to the UW from the affected countries, particularly as it pertains to those students or employees who have not yet obtained visas.
The University of Washington will continue to do everything in its power to support all members of our community. We are proud to be home to students, faculty and staff from around the world, and we believe strongly in the world as a global community, in the benefits of cultural exchange and the opportunity to learn from people with different backgrounds. Those values are core to our identity and will not change.
Posted on January 29, 2017:
On Friday morning, I had breakfast with David Bonderman, an alumnus who completed his undergraduate degree in Russian at the UW, and then a law degree at Harvard. He is best known to our students as the man who established what they call “the Bonderman,” a scholarship for our undergraduate, graduate and professional students to travel abroad to multiple countries over an eight month period. It is not for a formal study program, but to “wander and wonder,” learning through personal experience about unfamiliar people and places.
The scholarship is modeled after Harvard’s Sheldon Fellowship, which he received at the end of his studies there. He then traveled to Cairo, Egypt to study Islamic jurisprudence and law before embarking on an illustrious and varied career. One of this country’s most successful businessmen, investors and philanthropists, David talks eloquently about how profoundly this experience with other cultures shaped his work and his life. Learning and working side-by-side with others from different backgrounds, life experiences and world views is one of the most important educational experiences we can offer our students; and it is key to the scholarship and research of many, if not most, of our faculty.
Having just talked with David about the impact his gift has had on the lives of our students, and the impact that they, in turn, are having on the world, it is especially difficult and painful for me to have to recommend that members of our community from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen avoid international travel at this time due to the recent presidential executive order.
This is a dynamic and rapidly changing situation, which is even changing as I write, but given reports that individuals with visas, and even legal permanent U.S. residents, from these seven countries are being denied entry to the United States, we recommend community members from these nations avoid international travel. The Office of Academic Personnel and International Student Services have been contacting scholars and students from these nations, who can utilize these offices for personalized assistance. We will provide these community members with updates directly as the situation becomes more clear.
I also want to state in the clearest possible manner that the University of Washington is proud to be the home to students, staff and scholars from around the world. We stand with them and will provide them with support as needed. As Provost Baldasty and I emphasized to the community in November, we are fully committed to providing a safe, secure and welcoming environment that protects the privacy and human rights of all members of our community.
When I arrived to this country in 1959 it was as a political refugee from Cuba. I then became an immigrant on a “green card” and fifteen years later, a U.S. citizen proud to commit to the values that have made this country great, including its almost singular ability to welcome the world’s tired, poor and huddled masses “yearning to breathe free,” as well as its artists, scholars, and scientists coming here to study