The Donald Trump Administration is bringing back a new rule that never was because the Biden Administration pulled the plug on its original proposal in 2021. Homeland Security announced a fresh warning for foreign students in the US in its bid to limit the amount of time they and certain other nonimmigrant visa holders are allowed to remain the country without further screening and vetting.
According to an official news release DHS published Wednesday, August 27, (US time) the proposed rule making headlines seeks to curb what the Trump government calls “visa abuse,” paving the way for US authorities to properly vet and keep an eye on certain visa holders, including foreign students, professors and physicians. Having gone into overdrive, Homeland Security and its sub-branch, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), are already issuing a slew of warning day in-and-out.
Their latest step now especially targets foreign students who have advantageously been making the most of the nonimmigrant visa status to become “forever students,” who remain “perpetually enrolled in higher education courses” to stay in America. A DHS spokesperson further highlighted in the news release that foreign students, including Indians, and visa holders have long been allowed to stay in the US “virtually indefinitely.” However, as per the new rule, the Trump admin would put a cap on the period a visa holder can be in the US for by getting rid of the long-existing “duration of status” designation.”
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The so-titled news release by the Department of Homeland Security underscored that the proposed rule would disallow visa holders from staying in the US beyond four years at a stretch. US authorities believe that such individuals in the country pose safety risks, cost untold amount of taxpayer dollar and disadvantage American citizens.
“Under President Trump’s proposed rule, the federal government would set the authorized admission and extension periods for foreign students and exchange visitors up to the duration of the program they are participating in, not to exceed a 4-year period,” the DHS stated.
“The rule would set the initial admission period for foreign media representatives at up to 240 days. Foreign media representatives would be eligible for an extension period of up to 240 days, but no longer than the length of the temporary activity or assignment.”
And so, allowing international students, exchange and foreign media classifications for a limited (and fixed) amount of time would leave these visa holders with no choice but to apply for authorisation to extend their stay with USCIS. Thus, longer period stays in the country would be backed by regular assessments. Consequently, the outcome would make room for DHS to conduct proper checks of SEVP and SEVIS with information becoming more accessible. Additionally, it would end up bringing down the number of visa-holding people in the US as well.
What is ‘duration of status’?
Over the past several decades, foreign students with F-type visa classification have been allowed into the US for an unspecified period called “duration of status,” referring to the time they’re enrolled as full-time students. Those with this designation may stay in the country for an indefinite amount of time without going through screening and vetting processes again.
The new rule is still in its “proposed” stage and has yet to be finalised.
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Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, is already envisioning tough times ahead, as the Trump admin’s rule (if and when gone into effect) could serve as a major hurdle in the path of foreign students. “It will certainly act as an additional deterrent to international students choosing to study in the United States, to the detriment of American economies, innovation, and global competitiveness,” Aw said in a statement as shared by Politico.
DHS saying that the so-proposed 4-year cap would allow authorities to regularly assess visa holders signals even longer waits for aspirants seeking to extend their US stay. The announcement comes at a time when visa interview pauses and enhanced immigration scrutiny has already significantly taken a toll on the student arrival rate.
Over a week ago, a Bloomberg report indicated that the number of international visitors arriving in America had decline in July, staying just below 79,000. The overall 28% slump showed that Asian communities, especially Indians and Chinese, were hit the hardest. Student arrivals from the South Asian nation fell by 46%, while arrivals from the latter country had dropped by 26%.
According to US government data, about 1.6 million international students were in the US thanks to F visas in 2024. Over 330,000 were Indian nationals, making the South Asian country the biggest source of foreign students for the US, in the 2023-24 period.