Key Takeaways
- The Trump administration finalized stricter limits on the duration of visas for foreign students and journalists.
- Foreign students can now stay up to four years, while journalists are limited to 240 days or eight months.
- The changes are part of a broader immigration crackdown under President Trump.
President Donald Trump’s administration has finalized new rules that impose stricter limits on the duration of visas for foreign students and journalists in the United States. The move, which could be implemented as soon as September 2025, is part of a broader crackdown on legal immigration under the current presidency.
Under the new regulations, foreign students will now be admitted for the length of their academic program up to a maximum of four years. This change aims to address concerns that foreigners were indefinitely extending their studies to remain in the country as 'forever students.'
In contrast, journalists are limited to stays of just 240 days or approximately eight months. However, they can apply for extensions of the same duration. Notably, Chinese journalists will be restricted to a maximum stay of 90 days.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) received close to 22,000 public comments after proposing these rules in August 2025 but finalized them largely unchanged. The department alleged that the open-ended system for students since the late 1970s had undermined its ability to monitor visa holders.
The United States welcomed over 1.1 million international students in the 2023-24 academic year, contributing more than $50 billion to the US economy. Higher education groups denounced the proposal as a needless bureaucratic hurdle that would deter talented students. The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration warned it 'weakens the ability of US colleges and universities to attract top talent.'
Universities have already reported lower international enrollments after earlier Trump administration actions, including the revocation of thousands of student visas and the suspension of billions in federal research funding. Media organizations and international stakeholders, such as the Embassy of Japan, urged DHS to allow admission periods of two to five years for correspondents posted to US bureaus.
The rule is subject to review by the Republican-led Congress. Trump had proposed similar limits at the end of his first term, but his successor Joe Biden scrapped the idea.
