Brown University reports roughly 15 international students facing visa issues

(PROVIDENCE) Brown University says about 15 international students, most of them incoming graduate students, are stuck abroad with visa issues and may miss the start of the fall 2025 semester, the school confirmed this week. Administrators say the students cannot secure appointments or are waiting on decisions, while a smaller group inside the United States 🇺🇸 is worried about keeping their status amid wider policy changes.

The affected students represent a small but important share of Brown’s global community. International students make up roughly 14% of undergraduates, and graduate students—who form about one-third of Brown’s graduate population—account for most of the current delays. The picture is fluid: in April, some Brown students and recent graduates saw their visas revoked, then reinstated after weeks of uncertainty. Nationally, the State Department has revoked more than 6,000 student visas as of mid‑August 2025, feeding anxiety for those planning to travel or already studying on campus.

Brown’s Office of International Students and Scholars is in constant contact with students both abroad and in Providence. Staff are helping them assess options, document status, and plan next steps if travel or processing stalls. The university has asked students who need urgent help to reach Brown’s Administrator‑On‑Call, a standing resource for after‑hours support.

Tighter screening and shifting rules

For fall 2025, international students face a tougher visa landscape. Federal agencies have rolled out enhanced screening, including expanded social media checks.

• Starting September 2, 2025, the government will require mandatory in‑person interviews for all nonimmigrant visa applicants, which could further slow processing at least in the short term.
• After a mid‑year halt in routine student visa interviews, consulates began reopening calendars on June 18, 2025. But appointment supply still varies widely by location, leaving many applicants scrambling for slots.

At the same time, executive orders from the Trump administration continue to enforce travel bans on nationals from 19 countries, with narrow exemptions. While some students qualify for visas despite these rules, the added layers make cases more complex and create last‑minute disruptions at ports of entry.

Tensions with China have also affected campus pipelines. On May 28, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced plans to more aggressively review and, where warranted, revoke student visas—especially for Chinese nationals in sensitive fields or with ties deemed concerning by U.S. officials.

Those national policy shifts are showing up in the data:

• According to VisaVerge.com analysis, F‑1 student visa issuance fell 12% from January through April 2025 and 22% in May compared with the same periods last year.
• Advocacy groups warn the U.S. could see a shortfall of up to 150,000 arriving students this fall, affecting tuition revenue, research output, and local college‑town economies.

For Brown, the timing is painful. Graduate students fuel research labs, help teach undergraduates, and drive projects with firm milestones. Even a few absences can:

• ripple through lab schedules,
• delay experiments that require specific team members, and
• force departments to reshuffle teaching assignments.

Faculty and administrators say they’re trying to hold spots, arrange remote starts when possible, and avoid losing momentum on funded work.

What Brown is doing and what students can do

Brown leaders say they are working case by case. President Christina H. Paxson has voiced concern for students caught in backlogs or facing last‑minute changes to travel plans. The university’s international office is sharing updates on interview requirements, revocation trends, and entry rules, while urging those inside the country to document their status carefully and reach out at the first sign of trouble. For students abroad, staff are helping assess whether to attempt travel now or defer to a later term.

Students confronting visa issues this fall can take the following steps:

1. Complete the DS‑160 and schedule the new in‑person interview requirement.
   • The DS-160 online nonimmigrant visa application is the core form for most student visas.
   • Keep confirmation pages and receipts safe and ready for your appointment.

1. Prepare for social media review and tougher vetting.
   • Officers can ask detailed questions about travel, studies, funding, and affiliations.
   • Keep answers consistent with your application and supporting documents.
2. Stay in steady contact with Brown’s Office of International Students and Scholars.
   • Share changes in appointment dates, administrative processing notices, and new travel advisories.
3. Consider a short deferral if delays persist.
   • Many students nationally have deferred this year to avoid losing tuition and housing deposits while waiting for interviews or decisions.
4. Seek legal help if you face a visa revocation or status question.
   • Brown can connect students to resources, and private counsel can review options when timelines are tight.

Availability at consulates remains uneven. Some posts have reopened student calendars with regular—but limited—slots. Others release small batches with little notice or continue to face staffing shortages. Students report strategies such as:

• refreshing portals frequently,
• traveling regionally to reach a different consulate, or
• pursuing emergency requests when classes are about to start.

Each method carries trade‑offs in cost and success rates, and outcomes often hinge on local conditions.

The new interview mandate on September 2, 2025 could add lines in the early weeks as consulates retool staffing and intake procedures. Officials say the standardized approach will improve uniformity and security checks, but the near‑term effect may be longer waits and fewer quick reschedules.

As systems settle, processing could pick up, but those gains might come too late for some fall arrivals.

Broader debate and local impacts

Policy watchers say the broader debate is not whether the U.S. screens students—it does—but whether the balance has shifted too far toward deterrence at the expense of research and teaching. Universities like Brown stress that international students bring essential skills, fresh ideas, and hands‑on capacity to labs and classrooms. Business leaders note that graduate students feed regional innovation and support local jobs.

Advocacy groups are urging federal agencies to:

• prioritize student cases,
• clarify exemption pathways from travel bans, and
• reduce processing breaks that create confusion.

For students and departments still planning for September, the practical message is to keep options open. Brown is monitoring cases daily, offering letters of support, and working to prevent unintentional status lapses for those already in Rhode Island.

For students abroad, departments are weighing:

• remote starts,
• backup project roles, and
• spring enrollment where needed.

If national issuance trends stabilize and consulate access improves through the fall, some affected students could still secure late arrivals.

For now, the coming weeks will test how far campus support and student persistence can go against a rigid timeline. Brown will begin classes even as some accepted students remain in limbo, hoping paperwork clears and a seat on a final‑leg flight opens in time. The university says it will keep pressing for each case until a decision—approval, delay, or deferral—finally lands.