US to Limit Stay Permits for International Students

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Thursday (16/7) that it will tighten restrictions for international students and exchange programme participants by limiting their legal period of stay to a maximum of four years, unless an extension is approved by the federal government. “Nonimmigrant students (F visa) and exchange visitors (J visa) will be admitted for the duration of their specific programme, not to exceed a maximum period of four years,” the department said in a statement released on its website. According to the statement, the final rule “formally eliminates the ‘duration of status’ loophole” that allowed foreign students, exchange visitors, and others to remain in the US indefinitely and “without routine oversight from the government.” The Duration of Status provision allowed foreign nationals to stay in the US as long as they were actively pursuing the purpose of their visa, rather than setting a specific date by which they had to leave the country. “For nearly half a century, the outdated duration of status framework has jeopardised national security and created a fertile environment for immigration fraud,” said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, accusing thousands of foreign students of abusing the US immigration system. In a statement, Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of NAFSA, a US-based association of international educators, described the DHS decision as “a misguided and unnecessary policy change that injects uncertainty, red tape, and fear into a system that has long worked effectively.” Aw added, “It signals to the world’s best students and scholars that America’s welcome, predictability, and commitment have diminished.”