US to tighten visa regulations for foreign students, journalists

WASHINGTON – The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) moved to amend visa regulations for foreign students and journalists on July 16, replacing the more open-ended stays that are currently stipulated, according to a government notice.

The new final rule would create a fixed time period for F visas for international students, J visas that allow visitors on cultural exchange programmes to work in the United States, and I visas for members of the media.

Those visas are currently available for the duration of the programme or US-based employment. The effective date is 60 days from publication in the federal register, subject to congressional review.

President Donald Trump, a Republican, kicked off a wide-ranging immigration crackdown after taking office in January 2025.

The latest action would create new hurdles for international students, exchange workers and foreign journalists.

The Trump administration has increased scrutiny of legal immigration, revoking student visas and green cards of university students over their ideological views and stripping legal status from hundreds of thousands of migrants.

Under the new regulation, the student and exchange visa periods would be no longer than four years. The visa for journalists – which currently can last years – would be up to 240 days or, in the case of Chinese nationals, 90 days.

The visa holders could apply for extensions, DHS said.

In August, China’s foreign ministry opposed the proposed new rule for Chinese journalists as being discriminatory. The Chinese Embassy did not immediately return a request for comment on July 16.

Student stipulations

The regulations prohibit graduate students from changing their “educational objectives” at any point or from transferring to another school without authorisation. They halve the amount of time students have to leave the United States after completing their degree or training from 60 to 30 days.

“Most Americans understand the value of welcoming international students and getting rid of needless red tape,” said Doug Rand, a former DHS official. “This rule would do the opposite.”

David J. Bier, immigration studies director at the Cato Institute, said there was no legal basis for the study and transfer restrictions in the new regulations.

“International students, many of whom will have spent years in the USA, will now have just 30 days to find an employer to sponsor them or immediately be turned into illegal immigrants. Have these people no understanding of how life works?“ he added.

The department cited a dramatic rise in such visas in the posting.

It said there were more than 1.8 million student visa admissions in 2024, a more than 11 per cent increase over the previous year. The US granted visas to more than 500,000 exchange visitors and 37,300 members of the media in fiscal year 2024, which began on Oct 1, 2023, it said.

The significant increase in the volume of such visitors “poses a challenge to DHS’ ability to monitor and oversee these non-immigrants while they are in the United States”, the department said.

DHS said it has many examples of students and exchange visitors staying for decades on their visas.

Visa holders who want to stay in the US beyond their fixed period of admission will need to apply to DHS for an extension or gain re-admission by travelling abroad and then re-entering the US, the new rule said. REUTERS