The Donald Trump administration is moving to restrict how long international journalists and foreign students can stay in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement on Wednesday that the proposed rule would limit the period certain visa holders are allowed to remain in the country.
Since 1978, students on F visas have been admitted under a system called “duration of status”, which lets them stay in the US as long as they are enrolled in a programme. This has allowed many to remain for extended periods without renewed checks, the DHS explained.
The Trump administration argued that some foreign students have abused the system by enrolling in courses indefinitely.
“For too long, past administrations have allowed foreign students and other visa holders to remain in the US virtually indefinitely, posing safety risks, costing taxpayer dollars, and disadvantaging American citizens.
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“This new rule would end that abuse once and for all by limiting how long certain visa holders can stay”, accoridng to the statement.
If approved, foreign students and exchange visitors would be given visas for the length of their programme, up to a maximum of four years. Journalists, who currently use I visas valid for five years with multiple renewals, would instead be admitted for up to 240 days at first. They could apply for one extension of the same length, but only up to the end of their assignment.
The new rule would also require students, exchange visitors and journalists to apply to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services for extensions, meaning they would face regular reviews of their stay.
This proposal was first introduced under President Trump in 2020 but withdrawn by the Biden administration in 2021.
