The American International Recruitment Council is deeply concerned by the senseless war in Ukraine and saddened over its impact on the Ukrainian people and others in the region. We support our members with staff, colleagues, partners, students and friends who are impacted by this tragic situation. And we stand with our AIRC member institutions and agencies who recruit and support Ukrainian students to pursue their dream of studying in the United States.
AIRC supports the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration call for Secretaries Mayorkas and Blinken to issue a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation and announce Special Student Relief (SSR) for Ukrainian nationals residing or studying in the United States. As the President’s Alliance noted, “TPS provides work permits and protection from deportation for those from designated countries who cannot safely return to their home country. SSR provides additional flexibility and relief for Ukrainian international students, preventing them from losing their F-1 status. There are 104,618 Ukrainian non-citizens in the United States who could benefit from TPS…and TPS and SSR would protect…nearly 2,000 F-1 Ukrainian international students.”
AIRC’s community is dedicated to the ideals of international education and its ability to foster global understanding. Keeping this goal in mind is more important now than ever before. Thank you to the AIRC community for all that you do to forge mutual understanding between individuals, communities, and nations.