Major US visa reform plan: 4-year term limit, restrictions for F1 visa; what else is changing?

US Student Visa Reforms: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed replacing “duration of status” with fixed-term for US visas for students, exchange visitors and journalists – the F-1, J-1 and I-1 visas, respectively. The new plan proposes to limit the validity of F-1 student visas and J-1 exchange visitor visas to the duration of the programme, up to a maximum of four years.

The details of the proposed rule, “Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media”, have been published in the Federal Register for public scrutiny and comment today, August 28, 2025.

This rule was recently cleared by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and aims to replace the flexible "duration of status" system with fixed, shorter admission periods. As per the document in the Federal Register, there were 1.6 million F, 1,41,212 J and over 32,000 I visa holders in 2023.

Citing violations and fraud as reasons for the overhaul, the document says the DHS has “identified over 2,100 aliens who first entered as F-1 students between 2000 and 2010 and remain in active F-1 status as of April 6, 2025”.

Given below is what the proposed rule says for F1 student visa holders.

Key changes in US student visa policy

These are some of the key changes proposed in the United States visa policy for academic students, holding F nonimmigrant visas:

• Fixed term limit: Thus far, those on US student visas were allowed to stay for an “unspecified period of time”, as the DHS puts it, as long as they continued in the activities they were given a visa to pursue. Therefore, students could stay as long as they remained students. Now, the F visa will be valid for the duration of the programme “not to exceed a 4-year period”. The draft policy proposes “striking all references to D/S for F, J, and I nonimmigrants”.
• OPT and STEM OPT: For those granted extensions for post-graduation Optional Practical Training (OPT) – also STEM OPT for those in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – the visa will be valid till the last date of “approved employment authorisation”. Those hoping to get OPT extensions will have to apply for both extension of stay (EOS) and an application for work authorisation.
• 60 days for arrival and departure: The DHS will give additional 30 days for arrival and 30 days to prepare for departure. These days will not be counted as part of the four-year maximum.
• Departure and Extension of Stay (EOS): International students who leave the United States before a decision on their EOS application and before or after the first approved period has expired can apply for admission again. However, the DHS may ask the candidates to show proof that they applied for EOS on time. Those who wish to extend their programmes, have to apply for EOS through their “designated school officials” or DSOs.
• Visa extension at point-of-entry: US Customs and Border Protection will have “the discretion to admit an alien for a certain period of time, consistent with statutory and regulatory authorities”.
• Applying for EOS: No new forms but renaming and change in language in the offing. The proposed policy provides for the US Citizenship and Immigration Services’ collection of biometric data at the point of EOS application as well as an interview.
• Work permit and EOS: If the approved period of stay for an F1 holder expires before a decision on their timely-filled EOS application, they will get an “auto-extension” of their permission to work on or off-campus but only “based on severe economic hardship resulting from emergent circumstances”. This employment authorisation will be valid for only 240 days.
• Language training: The US will allow students in language training programmes a total of 24 months, including breaks and an annual vacation.
• ‘Unacceptable reasons for extension’: The F1 visa duration will not be extended if the student is unable to complete the programme on time due to “academic probation or suspension” or has shown “repeated inability or unwillingness” to complete.

The DHS document says that around 79% of all F1 student visa holders in the US are pursuing programmes that can be completed within four years. In 2023, 34% were in four-year undergraduate programmes and 45% in two-year master’s ones.

Reasons for F1 visa reforms

The DHS document claims that the F programme is “subject to fraud, exploitation, and abuse”.

According to it, “multiple school owners’ have been prosecuted for facilitating the “pay-to-stay fraud” since 2008 in which school owners have allowed nonimmigrants on F-1 visas to remain in the US as students even though they did not attend classes. Some owners with multiple institutions did this by transferring students from one to another.

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The document also targets “designated school officials” in charge of reporting such data.

“DHS is also concerned that DSOs at these schools were complicit in these abuses,” says the document. “Some DSOs intentionally recorded a student's status inaccurately, some issued program extensions to students who did not have compelling medical or academic reasons for failing to complete their program by its end date, and some DSOs permitted students who failed to maintain status to transfer to another school rather than apply for reinstatement.”

Finally, the US government also has “concerns about the actions of the aliens themselves”, says the document. “Some aliens have used the F classification to reside in the United States for decades by continuously enrolling in or transferring between schools,” it says.

Fixing of terms will compel those on student visas to apply for “Extension of Stay” (EOS) allowing another round of verification.

The document says: “The proposed changes would allow immigration officers to directly verify, among other things, that students applying for an EOS: have the funds needed to live and study in the United States without engaging in unauthorised work; are maintaining a residence abroad to which they intend to return; have pursued and are pursuing a full course of study; and are completing their studies within the 4 year generally applicable timeframe relating to their post-secondary education programs in the United States or are able to provide a permissible explanation for taking a longer period of time to complete the program.”