Dozens of students from Gaza who had been admitted to US universities are now stranded, after the Trump administration suspended almost all non-immigrant visas for Palestinian passport holders. The move has crushed their hopes of resuming studies interrupted by the war.
Maryam, a Gaza City resident and former graduate student in physics at the Islamic University of Gaza, had earned a fully funded PhD place at the University of Maryland. She deferred her start by a year and was due to begin this month. But after the visa suspension, she remains in Gaza. 'Everything came crashing down again,' she said.
Leila, a 22-year-old engineering student from Gaza City, had been admitted as a transfer student to a university in the north-western US. She described being 'stuck in Gaza' after the ban. Both women are using pseudonyms to protect themselves and their families.
The US State Department said it had suspended processing of non-immigrant visas for Palestinian Authority passport holders 'while we conduct a full and thorough review' of vetting procedures. The suspension does not apply to Palestinians holding passports from other countries, unless they have ties to the Palestinian Authority or the Palestine Liberation Organization.
The Student Justice Network, a US-based collective, has been helping Gaza students with university and visa applications. Of the dozens they have assisted, only a handful have made it to the US. Advocates say the policy change is uniquely devastating for Palestinians in Gaza.
