The United States is pushing to sharply limit the length of stay for foreign students and journalists, in a proposed rule unveiled by the Donald Trump administration.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said student visas would be capped at four years, ending the current “duration of status” system that allows international students to remain indefinitely as long as they are enrolled.
“For too long, past administrations have allowed foreign students and other visa holders to remain in the U.S. virtually indefinitely, posing safety risks, costing untold amount of taxpayer dollars, and disadvantaging U.S. citizens,” a DHS spokesperson said.
“This new proposed rule would end that abuse once and for all by limiting the amount of time certain visa holders are allowed to remain in the U.S., easing the burden on the federal government to properly oversee foreign students and their history,” the spokesperson added.
Foreign journalists would also face tighter restrictions, limited to an initial stay of 240 days, with a possible extension of another 240 days, but no longer than the length of their assignment.
Previously, I-visa holders could remain in the U.S. for as long as their assignments lasted without a fixed cap. DHS argued the change “would allow DHS to conduct proper oversight by making access to necessary information more accessible and reducing the number of individuals here on visas.”
The measure, first introduced under Trump in 2020 and later withdrawn by the Biden administration in 2021, represents the latest push to tighten U.S. immigration rules.
