On one hand, the Trump administration has already advanced a number of measures to reduce the length of student visas in the United States. This change would effectively limit the duration of stay of foreign students, cultural exchange visitors, and journalists. The unfounded new guidelines also point to a greater role for government surveillance of international students. As part of this effort, F visas will be limited to four years, and J cultural exchange visas will be subject to the same four-year limit. In addition, journalist visas will now allow for only 240 days of stay. If you miss a deadline, don’t despair — you can request extensions with advance approval.
These proposed changes are a response to increasing alarmism within the administration about how student visas are allegedly abused. In justifying the crackdown, officials have claimed that international students are abusing their visas to stay in the country forever. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has asserted that these new time restrictions will foster regular assessments of visa holders, ensuring their continued eligibility to stay in the U.S.
“For too long, past Administrations have allowed foreign students and other visa holders to remain in the U.S. virtually indefinitely, posing safety risks, costing untold amount of taxpayer dollars, and disadvantaging U.S. citizens,” – DHS spokesperson.
Almost 1.6 million international students studied in U.S. institutions on F visas in 2024. These students are essential to the success of the funding model for American higher education. They are frequently charged significantly more in tuition than their domestic peers. The Trump administration has made clear that it intends to subject these students to harsher treatment.
Since the Trump administration started its second term in January, thousands of student visas have reportedly been cancelled. This extreme measure has thwarted the dreams of over 700,000 promising students. Unsurprisingly, the administration has received heavy backlash on its warpath against international students. Turkish PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk was arrested and was about to be deported. She recently co-authored an op-ed calling upon her university to sever its relations with Israel. In May, she was finally freed from a Charlotte immigration detention center. Her circumstances remain tenuous, as she is still under threat of deportation at any moment.
Just a few weeks ago, the Trump administration doubled down on its crackdown on foreign students by temporarily suspending all student visa applications. These steps are indicative of a larger effort to review immigration policies and raise national security issues.
“Foreign students have taken advantage of US generosity and have become ‘forever’ students, perpetually enrolled in higher education courses to remain in the US,” – DHS.
The proposed visa restrictions, if enacted, threaten to severely reshape the portrait of international education across the nation. As international students adjust to these changes, whether they will be able to come to American campuses in the future is up in the air.
