US moves to tighten student, exchange and journalist visa regulations

The Trump administration has unveiled a proposal to tighten US visa rules for foreign students, exchange programme participants and international journalists, marking another significant shift in the country's immigration policy.

Under the new regulations issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Thursday (July 16), visas that were previously valid for the duration of an academic programme, exchange initiative or employment would instead be subject to fixed validity periods.

The rules are scheduled to take effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, although Congress retains the authority to block them before implementation.

Since returning to office in January 2025, President Donald Trump has pursued a tougher immigration agenda, expanding scrutiny beyond undocumented migrants to include legal immigration pathways. His administration has already revoked student visas and green cards of several university students over ideological concerns and withdrawn the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants.

Under the proposed changes, F-category student visas and J-category exchange visitor visas would be capped at four years, while I-category visas for foreign journalists would be limited to 240 days. For Chinese journalists, the maximum visa validity would be reduced to 90 days.

The DHS said visa holders who need to remain in the United States beyond the prescribed period would be able to apply for extensions through existing procedures.

The proposal also introduces stricter rules for graduate students, limiting their ability to change academic objectives or transfer to another institution without prior approval. In addition, the grace period allowing international students to remain in the US after completing their studies would be cut from 60 days to 30 days.

The proposed measures have drawn criticism from immigration experts. Former DHS official Doug Rand argued that most Americans support welcoming international students and reducing unnecessary bureaucracy, warning that the new rules would have the opposite effect.

David J. Bier, Director of Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute, said the changes could place international graduates under intense pressure to secure employment sponsorship within just 30 days after completing their degrees, increasing the risk of falling out of legal immigration status.

According to DHS data, the United States recorded more than 1.8 million student visa admissions in 2024, an increase of over 11% from the previous year. During the same fiscal year, the country also issued more than 500,000 exchange visitor visas and 37,300 visas to foreign journalists.

The department said it had identified numerous cases in which students and exchange programme participants remained in the United States for decades under existing visa arrangements, arguing that the new rules are intended to strengthen oversight of temporary visa programmes.