As she prepared to leave for winter vacation, Tracey Pauline Albert, a master’s student at Columbia University originally from India, took no chances with her return plans. Her flight back to the U.S. was carefully scheduled to land well before Jan. 20.

Columbia is one of a handful of U.S. colleges and universities that have been cautioning their international student bodies to return to campus early to avoid any travel delays. Some schools are specifically advising students to arrive…