visas

National

U.S. restores legal status for many students, but the threat may still drive away top talent

4:10am April 28, 2025

by Michel Martin

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Elora Mukherjee of Columbia Law about the impact of the U.S. visa policy reversal on international students and what's at stake beyond elite universities.

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National

Government says — for now — it will restore international students' status

5:56pm April 25, 2025

International students had filed dozens of lawsuits after the government removed them from a database crucial for maintaining their legal status.

Foreign nationals propel U.S. science. Visa limits under Trump could change that

10:36am November 21, 2024

The incoming Trump administration is likely to crack down on the H-1B visas used by tech companies and research institutions to hire top talent from other countries.

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Passengers at the check-in desks in the departures hall at Ben Gurion International airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Nov. 30, 2021.

World News

U.S. allows Israelis visa-free entry as Israel opens travel to Palestinian Americans

1:09pm September 27, 2023

by Daniel Estrin

The decision is part of a deal that requires Israel to end bans and restrictions on Palestinian Americans and other Arab Americans traveling to Israel.

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A Passport Processing employee uses a stack of blank passports to print a new one at the Miami Passport Agency June 22, 2007 in Miami, Fla. Passport processing times are high due to increased demand.

World News

Traveling overseas this summer? There's huge demand for passports, so get yours ASAP

11:33am March 24, 2023

by Kaitlyn Radde

Passports are in "unprecedented demand," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. In 2022, the State Department issued a record 22 million passports — and 2023 is on track to break that record.

Global musicians can run into daunting red tape when it comes to obtaining a visa to perform at festivals. Soubi Attoumane (left) and M'madi Djibaba (right) of the band Comorian from Comoros had to fly to another country to apply for a U.K. visa to come t

Visa dissonance: Why world music performers can't always make it to the stage on time

12:27pm August 31, 2022

by Ian Brennan

Sounds like a musician's dream come true: A duo from the African nation of Comoros was invited to Peter Gabriel's world music fest. But there was a daunting obstacle: Getting a visa to enter the U.K.

An Afghan family watches helicopters fly off as a looming shadow appears in the foreground.

Afghan Interpreters Who Await Visas After Helping The U.S. Now Fear For Their Lives

7:01am June 19, 2021

"Every day, you can see an increase in the Taliban's presence," an Afghan who worked with the U.S. tells NPR. "What am I going to do after September? ... Am I going to even be alive by December?"

Left: Anwar Alsaeedi stands with his children, Nada, 9, and Mazeen, 6, in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. Right: Hatem al-Showaiter with his daughter in Djibouti, when his daughter was three and half years old. She is now aged seven and half.

World News

Some Yemenis Struggle For U.S. Visas Even After The End Of The Travel Ban

5:55pm May 24, 2021

Yemenis who won the diversity visa lottery were stopped by the Trump administration's travel ban. Now they've had to start applying all over again. "Our lives have been destroyed," says one man.

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An Iraqi soldier stands guard near a U.S. military air carrier at the Qayyarah Airfield West, before the U.S. transferred the base to Iraqi forces in March.

Laid Off By U.S. Contractor, Iraqi Interpreters Fear ISIS Retaliation

1:57pm June 12, 2020

by Jane Arraf

A U.S. military contractor abruptly laid off most of the U.S.-led coalition's Iraqi interpreters. Some have gone into hiding. "We ... will be easily hunted down," a group wrote to the U.S. military.

At Chicago's McCormick Place, neuroscientists from around the world presented their work to colleagues. But some researchers were denied entry because of the Trump administration's travel ban.

U.S. Travel Ban Disrupts The World's Largest Brain Science Meeting

8:27pm October 24, 2019

by Jon Hamilton

Scientists from nations including Iran, Mexico, and India were refused visas to attend this year's Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago. Some researchers got stand-ins to present their work.

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