US Imposes New Restrictions on Visas for Foreign Students and Journalists

The U.S. government plans to tighten restrictions on the length of time foreign students and media representatives can remain in the country, under rules disclosed on Thursday.

Students, including exchange students, will be allowed to stay for up to four years, while the duration of stay for foreign journalists will be set at 240 days. Both groups will be able to apply for extensions without having to leave the country.

Homeland Security Secretary Marco Rubio said in a statement: “For decades, foreign students have been admitted to the United States indefinitely, allowing thousands of them to abuse our immigration system by continuously enrolling in courses to avoid having to leave the United States.”

The new rules are scheduled to be officially published on Friday and will take effect after 60 days. Previously, the United States admitted these groups without a specific time limit.

For journalists, this meant their status remained unchanged as long as they continued practicing the same profession for the same employer. Students were officially allowed to remain in the country for the duration of their studies.

Reporters Without Borders said in a statement, “We are outraged that the Trump administration has harshly reduced the validity period of visas for foreign journalists from up to five years to just eight months. This change undermines the ability of international journalists to report from America and makes it extremely difficult for international media to operate here at all,” according to The Associated Press on Friday.