NYU International Travel Monitoring

Travel Advisory

Noncitizens living in the U.S. must be in possession of valid visa and travel documents in order to return to the U.S. after a trip abroad. Even with valid visa and travel documents, federal immigration authorities may exercise their authority to question and deny admission to noncitizens under certain circumstances. Moreover, because U.S. Customs and Border Protection has jurisdiction within 100 miles of a U.S. land/sea border, we advise noncitizens to be aware of the following.

Recent policy changes from the U.S. federal government have made travel more difficult for some members of our community. Two recent Executive Orders have, in particular, targeted some travelers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and (previously) Iraq. These Executive Orders have been challenged in U.S. courts, but due to the uncertainty over the final outcome in these cases, we recommend that citizens of the countries listed above who are currently in the U.S. avoid all international travel for now and until further notice. This is particularly the case for individuals who will be traveling on visas in passports from one of the designated countries. (If you have dual citizenship in one of the listed countries and plan to travel on your passport and documents from the non-designated country, you should be allowed to enter the U.S. assuming you do not meet any other ground of exclusion from the U.S. If you are a citizen in one of the listed countries but are also a U.S. Permanent Resident, you should be allowed to enter the U.S. assuming you do not meet any other ground of exclusion from the U.S.)

The U.S. federal government has also adopted more rigorous policies on questioning noncitizens at the border. Thus all noncitizens will likely face extra scrutiny at the border, and may be placed in secondary inspection and asked additional questions.

If you do decide to travel, it’s important for you to Know Your Rights. Before travel, be sure to have a lawyer’s name and contact information and the number for NYU Public Safety (on the back of your NYU ID card). Also be sure that a trusted friend knows your travel details. Be respectful and polite when going through U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Officials may attempt to search your phone and ask questions about your social media accounts. This means that you may want to review the content of your phone and social media accounts before any travel. Do not sign anything without the advice of a lawyer if detained or questioned by immigration officials, especially the form I-407 (for any U.S. Permanent Residents/green card holders in the US). This document is a “Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status.” If you were to sign it, you would no longer be considered a U.S. Permanent Resident nor would you be entitled to any of the benefits that go along with it.

Travel Monitoring

If you choose to travel, we also invite you to complete this form​ to make the NYU Office of Global Services (OGS) and the NYU Immigrant Defense Initiative (IDI) aware of your upcoming travel. This form will help us try to assist you if you encounter difficulties when attempting to enter the U.S. on your valid visa and travel documents. Please note, however: by entering your details on this form, NYU is not endorsing your travel, nor can we guarantee your successful entry into the U.S.

In filling out this form, you may opt to provide only your travel information for us to have on file, or you may also wish to seek a travel monitor. If you seek a travel monitor, this person will monitor your return to the U.S. and will alert OGS and IDI staff if he or she does not hear from you or a designated friend or family member with a few hours of your anticipated entry to the U.S. If you would like to be paired with a travel monitor, please select that option in the form below. Due to limited capacity, IDI prioritizes travel monitor requests for citizens of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. For citizens of other countries, we still recommend you fill out this form and provide the NYU Public Safety number (on the back of your NYU ID card) to a friend or family member so that they may contact us if any problems arise.