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1h ago

DHS Proposes 4-Year Cap on Student and Exchange Visas, 240-Day Limit for Journalists

A 30-day comment window opens on a draft rule that would replace open-ended stays with fixed terms requiring USCIS-approved extensions.

CAMBRIDGE, MA - MAY 29: A Harvard University graduate with a message in support of international students on her mortarboard sits with fellow students at the start of commencement exercises at Harvard University in Harvard Yard May 29, 2025, in Cambridge, MA. (Photo by Josh Reynolds/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
View of statue of John Harvard on the campus of this private Ivy League research university, Cambridge, MA, July 15, 2025. Image for illustration purposes only.
A general view of a U.S. State Department sign outside the U.S. State Department building in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 11, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon/File Photo
Graduation students, faculty, and family gather in Harvard Yard on May 28, 2025 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Image for illustration purposes only.

Overview

  • The notice of proposed rulemaking would end the decades-old “duration of status” framework for F, J and I visas and is not yet final.
  • F and J visa holders would be admitted for their program length up to four years, with a reduced post-completion grace period for F‑1 students from 60 to 30 days and new limits on graduate students switching programs mid-course.
  • I visas for foreign media would carry an initial 240-day stay with possible 240-day extensions, and some Chinese and Hong Kong passport holders would face a 90-day limit.
  • Stays beyond the fixed end date would require filing extensions with USCIS, which DHS says will enable periodic compliance checks through SEVP and the SEVIS system to curb “visa abuse.”
  • Roughly 1.6 million F‑visa students in 2024, about 355,000 exchange visitors and 13,000 media workers could be affected, and education groups including NAFSA warn the plan would create heavy administrative burdens and deter talent; the move follows recent visa revocations and heightened vetting by the administration.