US seeks four-year limit for foreign student visas, 240 days for journalists

Foreign students and journalists may soon face shorter stays in the United States under a proposed law by the Donald Trump administration.

According to a Wednesday statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the law seeks to curb “visa abuse” and increase the agency’s ability to “properly vet” visitors.

If finalised, international students would have a four-year cap on their visas, replacing the current “duration of status” system, which allows indefinite stays as long as the student remains enrolled.

Justifying the move, the DHS said foreign students have taken advantage of US generosity to become “forever” students, perpetually enrolled in higher education courses to remain in the country.

“For too long, past Administrations have allowed foreign students and other visa holders to remain in the U.S. virtually indefinitely, posing safety risks, costing untold amount of taxpayer dollars, and disadvantaging U.S. citizens,” a DHS spokesperson said.

“This new proposed rule would end that abuse once and for all by limiting the amount of time certain visa holders are allowed to remain in the U.S., easing the burden on the federal government to properly oversee foreign students and their history.”

Foreign journalists would also be limited to an initial stay of up to 240 days. However, they may seek an extension of another 240 days, but no longer than the length of their assignment.

Before the proposed rule, foreign journalists on I visas did not have a fixed maximum duration.

Instead, their stay was effectively tied to the duration of their assignments or employment, allowing them to remain in the US as long as they continued the qualifying activity without a set time cap.

“This would allow DHS to conduct proper oversight… by making access to necessary information more accessible and reducing the number of individuals here on visas,” the statement said.

First introduced under Trump in 2020, but later withdrawn by the Biden administration in 2021, the rule marks the latest push by the US to curb immigration.