New rule ends open-ended stays and requires extensions after fastened visa durations for college students and international media.
Revealed On 16 Jul 2026
The administration of United States President Donald Trump is placing new deadlines on visas for international college students, trade guests and journalists, ending a decades-old system that allow lots of them keep within the US for so long as they remained in class or on project.
Below a brand new Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) rule launched on Thursday, worldwide college students and trade guests will typically be restricted to 4 years whereas international journalists will likely be admitted for as much as 240 days at a time, or simply 90 days for Chinese language nationals.
Anybody who needs to remain longer must apply for an extension or go away the nation and apply to return again.
The regulation, which takes impact 60 days after publication within the Federal Register pending congressional evaluation, might affect admissions for faculty programmes beginning in August and September.
It marks the most recent step in Trump’s broader crackdown on immigration since returning to workplace in January 2025.
“For too lengthy, previous Administrations have allowed international college students and different visa holders to stay within the U.S. just about indefinitely, posing security dangers, costing untold quantity of taxpayer {dollars}, and disadvantaging U.S. residents,” a DHS information launch mentioned when the modifications had been first proposed final summer season.
The administration says the modifications will make it simpler to maintain monitor of individuals on these visas.
“DHS has many examples of scholars and trade guests staying for many years of their pupil or trade customer standing,” the rule mentioned.
The division mentioned it had discovered greater than 2,100 individuals who first entered as college students from 2000 to 2010 who nonetheless had pupil standing in April this yr as they enrolled in new programmes, transferred colleges or prolonged their programme dates to stay within the US.
The rule additionally tightens restrictions on worldwide college students transferring colleges or altering educational programmes, notably on the graduate stage.
In keeping with the DHS, there have been greater than 1.8 million pupil visa admissions in 2024, up greater than 11 p.c over the earlier yr.
The division additionally mentioned the US admitted greater than 500,000 trade guests and about 37,300 international journalists throughout the 2024 fiscal yr, which ended on September 30, 2024.
“The numerous enhance within the quantity of such guests poses a problem to DHS’s capability to watch and oversee these nonimmigrants whereas they’re in america,” the division wrote.
It’s the newest step in Trump’s broader push to tighten restrictions on each unlawful and authorized immigration.
In June, the Division of State mentioned it had revoked more than 100,000 visas since Trump returned to workplace final yr, together with 8,000 college students. A lot of these college students’ visas had been revoked over their political activism.
Immigration advocates and universities have warned that the insurance policies danger making the US a much less engaging place to review, educate or do analysis by growing prices and discouraging coming to the US for longer examine programmes.
