The future queen of Belgium is one of thousands of foreign students whose studies are in jeopardy after the Trump administration revoked Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students.
In a letter sent to the university on Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration was canceling Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, which allows universities to issue the forms students need to apply for visas to enter the U.S.
For students who are already enrolled, the cancellation creates a legal limbo because their visas haven’t been canceled, but without access to the SEVP system, Harvard has no way of reporting that the students are following the terms of the visas, making them susceptible to deportation, The New York Times reported.
Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, who is heir apparent to the throne, is one of the students whose legal status is suddenly unclear, Reuters reported. The university has about 6,800 enrolled international students.
The 23-year-old Elisabeth just finished her first year at Harvard, where she is pursuing a two-year master’s degree in public policy at the Kennedy School of Government.
“The impact of [the Trump administration’s] decision will only become clearer in the coming days/weeks,” Belgian royal palace spokesperson Lore Vandoorne told Reuters. “We are currently investigating the situation.”
The palace’s communications director, Xavier Baert, added, “We are analyzing this at the moment and will let things settle. A lot can still happen in the coming days and weeks.”
Less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump’s administration announced the move, Harvard filed a lawsuit seeking to block it, The New York Times reported. The suit accuses officials of a “campaign of retribution” against the university and points to the president’s social media posts attacking Harvard.
“We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action,” Harvard president Alan Garber said in a statement Friday morning.
Administration officials have defended the move by saying they’re trying to fight antisemitism on campus.
Last fall, the Belgian royal family went into full proud parent mode as Princess Elisabeth began her studies. The palace shared several photos of Elisabeth’s first few days on campus, with the images credited to a fellow student named Max Bueno.
The royal previously earned an undergraduate degree in history and politics at Oxford University, where she enrolled under the name “Elisabeth de Saxe-Coburg.” She’s the oldest of four children born to King Philippe and Queen Mathilde.
In her letter to Harvard, Noem said the university was “prohibited from having any aliens on F- or J-nonimmigrant status for the 2025-26 school year,” and that “existing aliens on F- or J-nonimmigrant status must transfer to another university.” The F visas are for students and J visas are for visiting scholars and professors.
It wasn’t clear how the transfers would work in practice or what the timeline for allowing them would be, considering the university’s spring term officially ends on Monday and graduation is scheduled for next week. The summer term begins June 23.
It’s also not clear that transferring would guarantee international students the ability to stay in the country, as Noem warned on Thursday that other university could be next.
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