Trump Administration Limits Foreign Student Visa Duration to Four Years

The Donald Trump administration has officially announced new regulations limiting the length of stay for foreign students in the United States. This policy adds a significant barrier for international students and for universities’ ability to recruit global talent.

The new policy, known as the duration of status rule, will limit the validity of student visas according to the number of years of study in a particular programme, with a maximum limit of four years. If students wish to stay longer to complete their studies, they must apply for an extension of status.

For roughly the past five decades, student visas were granted based on the duration of the programme. This meant visas remained valid for as long as the educational programme lasted, plus the Optional Practical Training (OPT) period, an immigration programme allowing foreign graduates to work in the US for up to three years after graduating.

The new rule carries major consequences for the following groups:

“For decades, foreign students have been allowed to enter the US without a definite time limit, enabling thousands of people to abuse our immigration system by continually enrolling in courses to avoid having to leave the US,” said Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, in a statement.

Immigration restrictionists have long targeted the OPT programme. They argue that it allows US companies to hire foreign graduates without strict regulations ensuring they are not paid less than American-born graduates.

Companies in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street frequently rely on OPT to hire new graduates before sponsoring them for long-term visas such as the H-1B. If access to OPT is made more difficult, foreign students’ chances of settling long-term in the US will be drastically reduced.

Beyond students, the rule also targets foreign media using I visas. Previously, journalists from Western media outlets could obtain visas of up to five years. Now, most of these visas are limited to a maximum of 240 days, while for Chinese nationals the limit is only 90 days.

The American Council on Education has warned that imposing fixed admission periods and unreasonable deadlines will have an adverse impact on educational institutions, international students, and the US economy as a whole.

Although the government argues that the measure is necessary for monitoring and vetting individuals within US borders, experts believe the uncertainty will discourage foreign students, particularly at postgraduate level, from choosing the United States as their study destination. (Wall Street Journal/I-2)