US proposes 4-year time limit for foreign students citing safety, disadvantaging US citizens as reasons
The administration of US President Donald Trump has proposed limiting the length of time that holders of student visas are allowed to stay in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the proposed rule change on Wednesday.
Under the proposed regulation, student visa holders’ stay in the US would be capped at four years.
Currently, they are basically allowed to stay in the country as long as they are full-time students.
Visas for journalists currently do not have clear durational restrictions, but they would be limited to 240 days.
The new limit for journalists with Chinese passports would be 90 days.
Visa holders would be able to apply for extensions.
The department said in a statement, “past Administrations have allowed foreign students and other visa holders to remain in the US virtually indefinitely, posing safety risks … and disadvantaging US citizens.” It added, “This new proposed rule would end that abuse once and for all.”
The public will have 30 days to submit comments on the rule change.
Earlier, Trump had proposed limiting the duration of status for visa holders in 2020, during his first term, but the proposal was withdrawn by the administration of then-President Joe Biden in 2021.
