Study in US: Donald Trump administration proposes to limit student visa duration

NEW YORK : The Trump administration is proposing to limit the duration of visas for foreign students and media personnel in the US. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a press release on Wednesday said that if finalised, the proposed rule would limit the length of time certain visa holders — including foreign students — are allowed to stay in the United States.

Since 1978, foreign students ( F visa holders) have been admitted into the US for an unspecified period known as “duration of status”. Unlike other visas issued, those with a “duration of status” designation are allowed to remain in the US for an indefinite amount of time without further screening and vetting, the DHS said. The Trump administration said that foreign students have taken advantage of the “US generosity” and have become “forever” students, perpetually enrolled in higher education courses to remain in the country.

“For too long, past administrations have allowed foreign students and other visa holders to remain in the US virtually indefinitely, posing safety risks, costing untold amounts of taxpayer dollars, and disadvantaging US citizens,” a DHS spokesperson said. “This new proposed rule would end that abuse once and for all by limiting the amount of time certain visa holders are allowed to remain in the US,” the spokesperson added.

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For foreign media personnel, who can work in the US on an I visa that is issued for five years and can be extended for multiple durations, the rule would set the initial admission period at up to 240 days. Foreign media representatives would be eligible for an extension period of up to 240 days, but no longer than the length of the temporary activity or assignment. Under President Trump’s proposed rule, the federal government would set the authorised admission and extension periods for foreign students and exchange visitors up to the duration of the programme they are participating in, not to exceed a four-year period.

US H1B programme, Green Card rules

Additionally, admitting foreign students, exchange, and foreign media classifications for a fixed period of time would require said aliens to apply for authorisation to extend their stay with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, therefore requiring regular assessments by the DHS for the alien to remain in the US for a longer period. This proposed rule was first proposed under President Trump in 2020 but was withdrawn by the Biden Administration in 2021.

Separately, the Trump administration is planning to change the H1B programme, the most sought after non-immigrant visa among Indian IT professionals, and also bring changes to the Green Card process, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has said. “I'm involved in changing the H1B programme. We're going to change that programme, because that's terrible,” Lutnick said in an interview to Fox News on Tuesday.

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He added that the Trump administration is also going to change the Green Card process that provides permanent residency in the US. The move comes amid a strain in ties between the US and India following the Trump administration imposing 50 per cent tariffs on India for its purchases of Russian oil, which came into effect from Wednesday.