Just weeks before President Donald Trump signed an executive order issuing a stay of travelers and immigrants from several countries, Point Park University faculty member Yaser Roshan was on a plane back to the United States from Iran.

Roshan, an Iranian national, was confident that he could enter and leave the country provided that his visa was in order. That was before Trump signed the executive order “Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Foreign Entry into the United States.”

Now Roshan is one of several university faculty members who are directly affected by the executive order barring citizens from seven countries – Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan – from entering at any border of the United States.

Roshan’s wife still lives in Vancouver, Canada, and the assistant professor of electrical engineering had plans to buy plane tickets to visit her during Point Park’s spring break.

The day after the immigration ban was implemented, though, Roshan canceled the trip.

“Right now I’m just postponing my trips simply to see how things settle down,” Roshan said. “I can’t go there and abruptly have something change and not come back. I can’t afford that because I have students here.”

Roshan’s uncertainty surrounding Trump’s immigration ban is not unjustified. Since Trump signed Executive Order 12769, the White House administration has faced multiple legal challenges on the immigration ban.

The initial order limited the number of refugee arrivals into the U.S. to 50,000 in 2017 and suspended the U.S. Refugees Admissions Program for 90 days. In addition, nationals from seven countries named in the executive order would be barred from entering the country for 90 days, with allowances for exceptions to be made on a case-by-case basis.

But widespread confusion followed the order from its first day of implementation up to today. The Trump administration initially stated that it had worked with the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security on the language and scope of the order, but officials at both departments denied that they had been consulted on the mandate.

Initially it was reported that green card holders – U.S. lawful permanent residents – would be included in the travel ban, though the Department of Homeland Security quickly exempted them from the order.

As of now, the executive order remains in legal limbo. On Feb. 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit unanimously denied the Trump administration’s request for a stay of a federal judge’s restraining order on the immigration ban. At the time of publication, the executive order is frozen and immigrants with valid visas are allowed to enter the United States.

That uncertainty has left Roshan and other Point Park faculty hesitant to leave the country for any reason – work, travel or family.

Aram Parsa, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is going to have to travel to Canada to see his mother-in-law, though he holds reservations about going across the border.

“With the executive order, she can’t apply for any sort of visa, so instead we’re going to Toronto to visit her,” Parsa said. “What if we go there and then they change the order again and we can’t come back? It’s less likely to happen, but it’s a worry you always have. Our home is here, everyone is here.”

Roshan and Parsa both hold Canadian citizenship, which allows them to enter and leave the country under the language of the executive order. Initially, the two faculty members weren’t confident that they could travel freely until the Canadian government announced that its citizens would be able to legally enter the United States, regardless of their birthplace.

But the promise from the Canadian government did little to reassure Roshan.

“Even though [the Canadian government] has assured us we’ll be safe, it’s hard to be sure,” Roshan said. “Who is here to say that it won’t happen and won’t affect me for even one day?”

The legal challenges the immigration ban currently faces presents a brand new set of questions to immigrants potentially affected by the order.

On Feb. 10, NBC News confirmed that the White House could potentially issue a brand new executive order that would accomplish many of the same immigration goals as Executive Order 12769.

Point Park leadership sent out an email to the school’s community on Jan. 30 in response to Trump’s executive order.

“We believe that diversity and inclusion are vital to the well-being of everyone here, to the educational mission of Point Park, and to the future of our country,” read the email, signed by President Paul Hennigan.

The letter also directed students with questions and concerns to Point Park’s International Student Services. A Q&A session was hosted on Feb. 1 by the International Student Services for international students who had questions or concerns about how the executive order would impact them. The meeting was open only to international students and faculty.

In an email to the Globe, the office of the president wrote, “Point Park’s campus has always been one of inclusion and diversity, with the belief that it is important to both the educational mission and the future of our country. We will always offer support and services to any student in need.”

Parsa and Roshan said that the Natural Science and Engineering Department chair and University Provost John Pearson reached out to them after the executive order. According to the professors, the university’s legal counsel was offered in the case of any immigration issues and they were both referred to Human Resources for any further questions.

Roshan said that he has received concordant support from his peers and the university body.

“I’ve never seen this much professionalism in colleagues and staff,” Roshan said. “I haven’t had any, even a small issue, in the change of opinions or behavior. Everyone has been very supportive and professional, even the students.”

On Feb. 1, several fake tombstones were placed at various points on Point Park’s campus with a piece of paper taped to them that read, “Last Year, Obama Bombed 5 of the 7 Countries Trump Banned. Don’t let this continue. Pick a side.” The words “Tell Hennigan” were written on the sign with red marker, as well as the phone number for President Hennigan’s office.

In an email to the Globe, the university said, “We have no information on the signs or the meaning and intent behind them.”

An expansion of the immigration ban could affect both Roshan and Parsa’s careers. In academia, where professors and graduate students frequently travel to attend and present at conferences, the potential limitations to international travel due to the executive order are troubling to the Iranian faculty members.

“I have to travel a lot and I don’t have any problems right now, but who’s to say that next week I won’t have a problem?” Roshan said. “The first day of the travel ban they denied all of the access of anyone born in Iran.”

Both of the faculty members expressed dismay at the language and implementation of the ban, especially when it was initially announced. Though the confusion surrounding the executive order has somewhat dissipated, Parsa finds the broad purpose of the ban disappointing.

“The way that they execute these orders, I think they are horrible,” Parsa said. “You can’t generalize people like that.”

The rushed nature of the immigration ban, combined with Trump’s comments on tinkering the language in the order, has left the two professors with concerns over future travel plans.

“I told my wife, ‘If things stay the same we can’t stay here.’ I’m not going to stay here and never leave the country because I’m worried,” Parsa said. “My parents are old people. They can’t come here to visit me and my brother, and if we can’t go there to visit them, I can’t do that.”

Roshan said that he hasn’t begun to consider concrete plans to leave the United States if Trump’s executive order is upheld in court or reintroduced altogether, though the professor admitted that he has to leave the option on the table.

“If this ban is something even semi-permanent for my country then I cannot accept that my family cannot come here. Period,” Roshan said.