Trump administration moves to cap student, exchange visas at four years; journalist visas limited to 240 days

The Trump administration on Thursday moved to tighten the duration of visas for foreign students, cultural exchange visitors and journalists, proposing a fixed maximum stay of four years for most student and exchange visa holders, replacing the current system that allows them to remain in the U.S. for the duration of their academic programme or authorised employment.

The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) final rule creates fixed periods of admission for F visas issued to international students, J visas for cultural exchange visitors who can work in the United States, and I visas for members of the foreign media.

Under the new regulation, student and exchange visas will generally be valid for no more than four years, while journalist visas, currently capable of lasting for years, will be limited to 240 days, or 90 days in the case of Chinese nationals.


Visa holders will be able to apply for extensions.

The rule is scheduled to take effect 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register, subject to congressional review.

The latest action creates new hurdles for international students, exchange workers and foreign journalists as the Trump administration continues to tighten legal immigration policies. Since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, the administration has expanded scrutiny of legal immigration, revoking student visas and green cards of university students over their ideological views and stripping legal status from hundreds of thousands of migrants.

DHS said the rule was prompted by a sharp increase in admissions under these visa categories. The department noted that there were more than 1.8 million student visa admissions in 2024, an increase of more than 11% from the previous year.

It also said the U.S. granted visas to more than 500,000 exchange visitors and 37,300 members of the media during fiscal year 2024, which began on October 1, 2023.

According to DHS, the significant increase in the number of such visitors has made it more difficult to effectively monitor and oversee nonimmigrants while they are in the United States. The department also cited numerous examples of students and exchange visitors remaining in the country for decades under the current "duration of status" system.

Under the new rule, visa holders seeking to remain in the United States beyond their fixed period of admission will have to apply to DHS for an extension or leave the country and seek readmission by re-entering the United States.

(With Reuters inputs)