The Department of Homeland Security’s new final rule establishes certain time limits for visas applicable to students, exchange programs, and media.
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Cuts in refugee admissions, humanitarian programs, and temporary visas have reduced legal immigration by hundreds of thousands of people.
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration on Thursday, July 16, took steps to tighten visa expiration dates for international students, cultural exchange visitors, and journalists.
The Department of Homeland Security’s new final rule puts a fixed period on F visas for international students, J visas that allow visitors participating in cultural exchange programs to work in the United States, and I visas for media workers. These visas are currently available for the duration of your program or employment in the United States.
The effective date is 60 days after it is listed on the federal register and is subject to congressional review.
Republican President Donald Trump launched a wide-ranging immigration crackdown after taking office in January 2025. The administration has increased scrutiny of legal immigration, stripped college students of their student visas and green cards based on their ideological views, and stripped hundreds of thousands of immigrants of their legal status.
The measures will create new hurdles for international students, exchange workers and foreign journalists.
Under the new regulations, the duration of student visas and exchange visas will not exceed four years. Journalists’ visas are currently valid for several years, with a maximum of 240 days, and 90 days for Chinese nationals.
Visa holders can apply for an extension.
In August, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs opposed proposed new rules for Chinese journalists, calling them discriminatory. The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
student regulations
This regulation prohibits graduate students from changing their “educational goals” at any time or transferring to another school without permission. This would cut in half the amount of time students have to leave the United States after completing their degree or training, from 60 days to 30 days.
“Most Americans understand the value of welcoming international students and eliminating unnecessary red tape,” said Doug Rand, a former Department of Homeland Security official. “This rule would do the opposite.”
David J. Beer, director of immigration research at the Cato Institute, said the new regulations have no legal basis for research and deportation restrictions.
“Many international students have spent years in the United States, but they have only 30 days to find a sponsoring employer or they will immediately become illegal immigrants. Don’t these people understand how life works?” he added.
The ministry cited a significant increase in these visas in its post. According to the report, student visa enrollment in 2024 will exceed 1.8 million, an increase of more than 11% from the previous year.
The United States announced it has issued visas to more than 500,000 exchange visitors and 37,300 media personnel for the 2024 fiscal year, which begins October 1, 2023.
This significant increase in the number of visitors “poses challenges to DHS’s ability to monitor and supervise these nonimmigrants while in the United States,” DHS said.
DHS said there are numerous examples of students and exchange visitors staying on visas for decades.
According to DHS, visa holders who wish to stay in the U.S. beyond their designated entry period will need to obtain re-entry permission by applying to DHS for an extension or by traveling abroad and then re-entering the United States.
