US moves to impose fixed visa terms for students, exchange visitors and journalists

WASHINGTON: The administration of President Donald Trump has moved to change US visa rules for foreign students, exchange visitors and journalists by replacing open-ended admission periods with fixed terms, according to a Department of Homeland Security notice issued on Thursday.

The final rule covers F visas for international students, J visas for people taking part in cultural exchange programmes that permit work in the United States, and I visas for members of the media. At present, these categories are generally issued for the duration of a study programme or US-based employment, but the new regulation would instead set specific time limits.

According to the notice, the rule will take effect 60 days after publication in the federal register, subject to congressional review. It forms part of a broader immigration crackdown launched after Trump returned to office in January 2025. The latest step would add new procedural requirements for international students, exchange participants and foreign journalists seeking to remain in the country.

Under the new framework, student and exchange visas would be limited to no more than four years. Visas for journalists, which can currently remain valid for years, would be capped at up to 240 days, while Chinese nationals in that category would be limited to 90 days. The notice states that visa holders would be able to apply for extensions.

The Department of Homeland Security said those wishing to stay in the United States beyond their fixed period of admission would have to request an extension from the department or leave the country and seek readmission by travelling abroad and re-entering.

DHS cites increase in admissions

The department said the rule was prompted in part by a sharp rise in the number of these visa categories. It reported more than 1.8 million student visa admissions in 2024, which it said was an increase of more than 11% from the previous year.

DHS also said the United States issued visas to more than 500,000 exchange visitors and 37,300 members of the media in fiscal year 2024, which began on October 1, 2023.

In explaining the change, the department said the growing volume of arrivals had complicated oversight of nonimmigrants while they remain in the country.

The significant increase in the volume of such visitors poses a challenge to DHS’s ability to monitor and oversee these nonimmigrants while they are in the United States

DHS further said it had numerous examples of students and exchange visitors remaining in the United States for decades under the current system.

The Trump administration has also tightened scrutiny of legal immigration in other areas, including revoking student visas and green cards of university students over their ideological views and ending legal status for hundreds of thousands of migrants.