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International students, faculty alarmed by speculated federal travel bans
Ruiyan Wang
A reported list of the Trump administration’s travel bans has startled affected international students at Yale.
The draft list, which was first reported by the New York Times on March 14, categorizes 43 countries into three tiers: red, which means all travel is banned; orange, which means visas are “sharply restricted” and yellow, which means the nation is given 60 days to address perceived issues, with the threat of being moved to another list.
Although the bans may be officially announced as early as Friday, they have not gone into effect yet, and the draft, developed by the State Department, is likely to go through changes upon reviews by foreign embassies, intelligence agencies and the White House. It is also unclear whether people with existing visas or green cards would be included in the ban.
However, students from the listed countries told the News that the fear of potential bans rattled their spring break travel plans and long-term career opportunities.
“The uncertainty surrounding this ban already makes me nervous, impacting how confidently I can plan my future,” said Bintou Leigh ’27 from Gambia, a country on the “yellow” list. “While I sincerely hope it doesn’t go into effect, given past travel bans and the unpredictability of these decisions, I’m preparing for the possibility that it might.”
While the State Department, following President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order to develop the list, said it was “committed to protecting our nation and its citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process,” some students expressed skepticism about this reasoning.
Leigh said that Gambia, like most other African countries on the list, has no history of posing security threats to the United States, and the ban “feels arbitrary and somewhat unjustified, as if we’re being labeled guilty without a clear explanation.”
“Many people from these nations, including myself, come to the U.S. genuinely aiming to learn, grow and give back,” she said. “To see our ambitions reduced to a perceived security risk undermines both our intentions and our humanity.”
Kirill Putin ’25, who is from Russia, said his friends back in Russia found their home country’s inclusion on the list “strange” coming from the Trump administration, given its friendlier stance towards the nation.
Russia is on the orange list, which means citizens would be restricted but not cut off from traveling to the United States, and would be required to show up for in-person visa interviews.
“However, it is not my first time living through the consequences of a major political decision made by a government which nobody quite understands,” he said.
Andrei Kureichyk, a Belarusian dissident in exile and an associate research scholar at Yale, wrote to the News that he has heard of students and scholars who cancelled international travel plans and some who were forced to return to the United States early in anticipation of the travel bans.
Some countries on the draft list, such as Bhutan, did not have significant prior friction with the United States or the Trump administration. Others, like Belarus and Russia, have long been under American economic sanctions.
Kureichyk said that proposed travel bans go against the goal of the economic sanctions, which were aimed at punishing regimes but not citizens, some of whom oppose their leaders. By banning people based on citizenship, he said, the Trump administration would limit American access to culture, language and history unique to those countries.
“There are people in Russia who disagree with Putin, protesting against his aggressive war,” Kureichyk said. “There is a huge number of people in Belarus who protested against Lukashenko’s dictatorship. I am sure that there are those in other countries who share the values of freedom and democracy. Why should they be banned from entering the United States? What is their fault?”
A student from Pakistan, listed on the “orange” list, told the News that preliminary news of the ban has already affected him. The student requested anonymity for security concerns. While he planned to travel to Turkey over spring break, upon learning about the draft list on the Thursday before break, he chose to stay in the United States, afraid that the ban would take place while he was abroad.
Fear of the impending ban is also preventing him from attending his sister’s wedding in April and from visiting his ailing grandmother.
“Her health has deteriorated in the last couple of months, and she is almost on her deathbed,” he said. “If at some point I need to travel, … I cannot even be there for her and she obviously wants to see me.”
While the ban wouldn’t impact Kirill Putin’s long-term plans, as he planned to leave the United States after graduation anyway, it could prevent his parents from attending his graduation.
He expects the ban to go into effect, given that a similar ban took place in 2017 after a green light from the Supreme Court.
Ghai Tit Tit ’27, who is from South Sudan, included on the “orange” list, said the bans would further complicate his visa applications.
Student visas for South Sudanese citizens are typically limited to three months or two entries and require reapplication when either of the limitations is reached. Additionally, South Sudanese students need to travel to neighboring countries for each application.
Kureichyk is also worried about meeting his family members, adding that the sentiment is common among international students and scholars.
The preliminary ban also has long-term effects for students from affected countries.
According to Leigh, Gambia’s inclusion on the final travel ban list would complicate her attendance of medical school in the United States.
“My ultimate goal has always been to acquire a world-class medical education, then return home and directly address healthcare gaps in Gambia,” she said. “With limited medical resources back home, studying in America isn’t just about personal ambition, it’s about bringing essential medical skills back to my community.”
The student from Pakistan said the ban might prevent companies from hiring him and sponsoring his visa, especially considering the international nature of the finance industry.
“A company might not want to undertake the rigmarole of putting me through the sponsorship process when they know for sure that I cannot stay in the country and I cannot participate in cross-border deals that require me to travel,” he said.
Students said the likelihood of a travel ban has caused “harrowing” and “distressing” effects to their day-to-day life, as well as frustration about how they perceived the global role of the United States.
Leigh said the news of the draft list shocked her not because travel bans are unprecedented but because “it felt personal, targeting the community that raised me.” It caused a “mixture of frustration, fear and resignation” among her international friends on campus, she said.
The Pakistani student further expressed his disappointment about his idea of America, a country which he expected to treat everyone equally and assume everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
“One of the biggest reasons that inspired me to come all the way here for college is the American Dream, which basically means inclusivity,” he said. “To be treated like a second-class citizen on a day-to-day basis is very disheartening.”
“Obviously, it breeds a very xenophobic narrative in the student body, and I’m lucky that I’m at a place like here where people have the resources and education to be empathetic,” he added about the bans.
Yale admin bides its time
Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis told the News that he expects students, not permanent staff members, to be more affected by the bans if they are enacted, and encourages concerned students to contact the OISS — the Office of International Students and Scholars — for advice.
“We’re working closely with the Office of International Students and Scholars, and they have reached out to everybody who’s from one of those countries,” Lewis told the News. “And if anybody hasn’t heard from them, they should go ahead and reach out to them to help strategize about what to do, if this actually takes place.”
Yale said it would offer short-term legal assistance to students at risk of deportation as a result of pro-Palestinian protests, and a University spokesperson reiterated that Yale would not voluntarily share student information with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Still, students remain skeptical that the University can provide practical help. According to the Pakistani student, the OISS did not provide much advice apart from urging him not to travel.
The OISS did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
A letter written by Yale law professors Muneer Ahmad and Michael Wishnie on March 16 and circulated by the Yale chapter of the American Association of University Professors urged those affected to return to the United States “as soon as possible.”
Kureichyk told the News that universities like Yale should unite to warn politicians against the dangers of isolationism.
“It is difficult to say about the legal steps that American universities can take to protect their academic freedom, including the freedom to accept international students and scientists,” Kureichyk wrote. “But I am sure that by uniting, American higher education can become a great force.”
Yale has been less vocal about the administration’s immigration policies compared to this point in Trump’s first term, instead choosing to wait to react to impactful policies.
Many universities, including Harvard, Cornell and Brown, asked students prior to or during winter break to return prior to Trump’s inauguration. Yale did not issue such statements. Ozan Say, director of the OISS, told the News in a Feb. 14 interview that the office was waiting to respond to concrete policy changes instead of speculation.
“I’m sure there will be things that we didn’t foresee and will surprise us entirely when it comes out,” Say said in February. “Definitely, those things will happen, but it’s been only three weeks. This is a marathon, so I think we need to pace ourselves.”
Yale’s first international student arrived between 1805 and 1810.
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Find Sunflowers In Full Bloom At These Places In India This Month – Travel and Leisure Asia
Find Sunflowers In Full Bloom At These Places In India This Month Travel and Leisure Asia
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Wego India Innovates with Technology to Streamline Travel Search, Address Trends, and Drive Post-Pandemic Growth
Friday, July 11, 2025
Wego India, a prominent metasearch engine in the travel industry, is revolutionizing the way Indian travelers plan and book their journeys by leveraging cutting-edge technology. According to Bernard Corraya, General Manager of Wego India, the company’s focus on technology and customer experience has been pivotal in enhancing travel search and expanding options for Indian users.
In an exclusive interview with TTW, Bernard Corraya, GM of Wego India, discussed the company’s innovative approach to revolutionizing the travel experience for Indian users. He highlighted Wego India’s integration of real-time APIs, offering seamless flight, hotel, and train bookings. The platform now features flexible fares, multi-carrier itineraries, and a growing focus on experiential accommodations. Corraya also emphasized Wego’s efforts to deliver personalized travel recommendations using machine learning. As India’s travel industry recovers post-pandemic, Wego is contributing to both domestic and outbound tourism by offering flexible, competitive options and a streamlined travel ecosystem.
Wego’s platform aggregates real-time data from airlines, hotels, rail operators, and OTAs through API integrations, ensuring users have access to the most up-to-date and comprehensive options available. This enables the search for flights, hotels, and trains to be smooth and seamless. A significant addition in early 2024 was the integration of a train-booking service, which directly pulls IRCTC availability, allowing users to search for train tickets alongside flights and hotels. The service is designed to allow users to filter by various preferences, such as class, departure time, and fare type, and even complete payments without leaving the platform. Underpinning this service is a robust infrastructure that ensures that search results are up-to-date, reducing booking friction and improving the user experience for Indian travelers.
Looking ahead to 2025, Wego India has observed key trends in travelers’ preferences. Indian users are increasingly opting for flexible fares, which offer refund and rescheduling options, as well as multi-carrier itineraries for better convenience. Additionally, premium-economy seating is gaining popularity for medium-haul flights as travelers seek more comfort. On the hotel front, there is a growing demand for experiential and long-stay accommodations, particularly in tier-II and tier-III cities. The preference for boutique properties and serviced apartments—combining home-style amenities with hotel services—reflects a shift in how Indian travelers want to experience their stays.
To ensure competitive pricing and a wide array of options, Wego India utilizes a dynamic pricing engine that aggregates fares from multiple sources, including direct airline APIs, global distribution systems, and third-party OTAs. This ensures that Wego India users have access to the most competitive prices, along with the flexibility to explore both standard and exclusive package deals.
The company has also embraced the demand for personalized travel recommendations. Wego employs machine-learning algorithms that analyze a user’s past searches, bookings, and travel preferences to present more tailored options. This creates a more personalized experience, allowing users to discover flights, hotels, and destinations that match their individual needs. Additionally, the homepage features “inspiration modules,” offering curated destination guides based on collective trend data.
As India’s travel industry recovers post-pandemic, Wego India is playing a crucial role in facilitating both outbound and domestic travel. With the rise in domestic tourism and outbound travel, Wego India has integrated self-drive rental services through a partnership with Zoomcar, further enhancing the convenience of travel. The company has also worked to make the booking process contactless, ensuring safety and flexibility for travelers. By aggregating multiple travel services—flights, hotels, trains, and self-drive rentals—into a seamless ecosystem, Wego India is paving the way for future growth in both leisure and business travel.
1. How is Wego India leveraging technology to enhance the travel search experience for Indian users?
Wego India operates a robust metasearch engine that aggregates live inventory from hundreds of airlines, hotels, rail operators and OTAs via real‐time API integrations. In early 2024, Wego introduced an integrated train-booking service—pulling IRCTC availability directly into its app and website—to complement flight and hotel search, allowing users to filter by class, departure time and fare type, then complete payment without leaving the Wego platform.
Under the hood, a combination of low-latency caching, incremental data polling, and predictive algorithms for ticket-confirmation probabilities ensures that search results remain both comprehensive and up-to-date, significantly reducing booking friction for Indian travelers.
2. What trends are you seeing in Indian travelers’ preferences for flights and hotels in 2025?
Users increasingly prioritize refundable or “flex” fares, multi-carrier itineraries and premium-economy seating for greater comfort on medium-haul routes. Meanwhile, hotel searches reflect a clear shift toward experiential and long-stay accommodations: demand for boutique properties in tier-II and tier-III cities is rising, and extended-stay travelers are booking serviced apartments that blend home-style amenities with hotel-class services.
3. How does Wego India ensure competitive pricing and comprehensive options in a highly dynamic market?
Wego’s dynamic pricing engine continuously polls multiple fare sources, direct airline APIs, global distribution systems and third-party OTAs, refreshing rates every few minutes to capture flash sales and limited-time bundles.
By presenting these aggregated deals side-by-side with standard fares and surfacing exclusive package rates, Wego India guarantees that every search surfaces the broadest choice at the most competitive price.
4. Can you share how Wego is addressing the growing demand for personalized travel recommendations in India?
To move beyond generic search results, Wego deploys machine-learning models that analyze each user’s past searches, bookings, trip durations and demographic signals. These algorithms rank flight and hotel options in order of likely affinity considering preferred cabin classes, budget bands and even seasonal travel habits, while “inspiration modules” on the homepage deliver hand-curated destination guides based on collective trend data. The result is a bespoke planning experience: rather than wading through hundreds of options, users are presented with personalized suggestions that align closely with their unique preferences and travel histories.
5. How is Wego India contributing to the recovery and growth of India’s outbound and domestic travel markets post-pandemic?
As India’s travel industry rebounds, with outbound trips climbing sharply throughout the year and domestic tourism leading the recovery, Wego has expanded its rail-booking service to capture intra-India travel demand and partnered with Zoomcar to integrate self-drive rentals directly into its platform.
By aggregating flights, hotels, trains and self-drive vehicles into one seamless ecosystem and by championing contactless booking pathways and flexible cancellation policies. Wego is empowering both leisure and business travellers to plan safe, autonomous journeys across India and beyond.
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Do not travel to Iran: US issues dire warning as detention, terrorism risks grow
In its starkest advisory, the US State Department has urged American citizens not to travel to Iran “for any reason,” citing an escalating pattern of wrongful detentions, threats to civil aviation, terrorism, and misleading surrogacy services.
The updated Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory comes amid growing tensions and a string of high-profile detentions involving US nationals. “US citizens in Iran face serious dangers,” the department warned. “They have been kidnapped and wrongfully arrested. Some have been held for years on false charges, subjected to psychological torture, and even sentenced to death.”
American citizens — especially dual US-Iranian nationals, journalists, students, and business travelers — are being targeted without warning or evidence of any crime, the government said. The advisory emphasized that “having a US passport or connections to the United States can be reason enough for Iranian authorities to detain someone.”
There are currently no formal diplomatic or consular relations between Washington and Tehran. In the event of arrest or detention, the US cannot directly intervene; instead, the Swiss government acts as the “protecting power” for US interests. However, consular access is often denied, especially to dual nationals.
TERROR THREATS AND AVIATION RISK
The advisory also highlights the increasing danger from violent extremist groups. “ISIS and related groups have taken responsibility for bombings and other attacks in the country. The risk of terrorism and deadly harm to bystanders continues,” it noted.
Due to escalating threats in Iranian airspace, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has banned US flights to, from, or through Iran. The department urged Americans to consult the FAA’s NOTAM and SFAR alerts for updates on civil aviation risks.
Adding to the list of concerns is Iran’s unregulated surrogacy industry, which, according to the advisory, has grossly misrepresented security risks and US citizenship law.
“Iranian surrogacy providers have also been known to misrepresent US citizenship law,” the State Department warned. “If a child born overseas to a surrogate is not genetically or gestationally related to a US citizen parent or their spouse, the child will not automatically acquire US citizenship at birth and will not be able to obtain a US passport to leave Iran.”
The tone of the advisory is unusually grave, urging would-be travellers to prepare for the worst. Among the recommendations:
– Drafting a will
– Leaving DNA samples with a medical provider
– Establishing a proof-of-life protocol
– Sharing sensitive login and personal documents with family
– Ends
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