US to shorten visa duration for students and journalists from September

Washington (ANTARA) - The United States will shorten the duration of visas for foreign students and journalists starting September, according to a notice from the US Government on Thursday (16/7), which once again reflects President Donald Trump’s policy of tightening immigration rules.

For holders of student and exchange student visas, according to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), their period of stay will in principle be limited to four years.

Meanwhile, for foreign journalists, their stay in the US may not exceed 240 days. For Chinese nationals specifically, in this category, the limit is only 90 days.

If everything proceeds smoothly, the regulation will take effect 60 days after the notice is officially announced on Friday.

Under the new rules, although entry permission is granted for a specific period, holders of F, J, and I visas may apply for extensions beyond the initial period. Allowing holders of these visa categories to stay in the US indefinitely is not in line with efforts to protect national security and public safety, DHS asserted.

In the notice, DHS stated that the new regulation will provide additional protection and oversight over these categories of non-immigrants.

Previously, in the final months of Trump’s first term in 2020, the US attempted a similar change.

However, the proposal at that time faced strong opposition from higher education institutions and many other bodies, and was cancelled in 2021 by the administration of then President Joe Biden.

Source: Kyodo