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Foreign students and journalists will face new limits on how long they can stay in the United States under a Trump administration rule set to take effect in September.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the changes July 16, ending a decades-old policy that allowed many student, exchange and media visa holders to remain in the United States for the duration of their studies or assignments. The new rules impose time limits, stricter oversight and additional federal review requirements for extensions.
What changes under the new visa rules?
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The new policy affects three major visa categories:
- F visas for international students
- J visas for cultural and educational exchange visitors
- I visas for foreign journalists
DHS said the changes are designed to eliminate what it calls a "duration of status" loophole that allowed some visa holders to remain in the United States indefinitely without routine federal oversight.
How will the new rules affect foreign students?
International students and exchange visitors will no longer receive open-ended authorization tied to their academic programs.
Instead, student and exchange visas will be limited to the length of a participant's program, with a maximum stay of four years.
Students who need additional time to complete their studies must apply directly to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for an extension. Those requests will be subject to background checks, biometric screening and fraud reviews.
The rule also shortens the grace period for F-1 students after graduation or program completion from 60 days to 30 days.
Current visa holders already in the United States under the previous system will automatically transition to the new framework, with their authorized stay capped at four years from the rule's effective date, according to DHS.
How will the new rules affect foreign journalists?
The administration is also imposing new time limits on foreign media visas.
Under the rule, journalists holding I visas will be limited to stays of 240 days. Journalists from China will be limited to 90 days.
Currently, foreign journalists can generally remain in the country for the length of their assignment. Journalists seeking to stay beyond the new limits must apply for a visa renewal and undergo additional vetting.
The changes have drawn criticism from press freedom advocates.
"This new rule risks providing the government with an avenue to not renew a journalist's visa in retaliation for coverage it perceives as critical," Gabe Rottman, vice president of policy at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said in a statement.
Why is the Trump administration making the changes?
DHS says the new rule strengthens oversight of nonimmigrant visa programs and reduces opportunities for immigration fraud.
"For nearly half a century, the outdated 'duration of status' system has compromised national security and created an environment ripe for immigration fraud," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement.
When do the new visa rules take effect?
The final rule has been published in the Federal Register and is scheduled to take effect 60 days after publication.
That means the new restrictions could begin taking effect in September.
Key takeaway
The new policy will affect roughly 1.2 million foreign students and about 1,500 foreign journalists in the United States, requiring many to seek federal approval for extensions and placing new limits on how long they can remain in the country, according to the Migration Policy Institute and U.S. State Department.
Reuters contributed to the reporting of this story.
Michelle Del Rey is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at @usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump administration caps foreign journalist, student visas
