By Shubhangi Chowdhury
The Trump administration is now looking to change how student visas work in the U.S. Instead of the current flexible system, they’re planning to set a fixed time limit for how long international students can stay.
A draft rule from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which is currently now being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) aims to scrap the existing “duration of status” system and replace it with fixed periods of stay. This move could directly impact international students, exchange visitors, and foreign media representatives in the U.S.
Trump first introduced this idea back in 2020 during his first term, but it never went into effect. The rule would have restricted F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors to fixed stays of two or four years, after which they’d need to reapply to extend their visas. Colleges and education groups pushed back, saying it would create unnecessary hurdles and disrupt students’ academic progress. The Biden administration eventually scrapped the plan in 2021.
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Right now, international students on F-1 visas and exchange visitors under J-1 visas are allowed to stay in the U.S. for the full length of their academic or training programs. Under the current “duration of status” system non-immigrants can stay as long as they are enrolled full time or actively participating. But this flexibility would change with the enforcement of the new proposed rule.
The proposed rule would replace this open-ended stay with fixed timelines. If passed, it would require non-immigrant students and visitors to leave the U.S. after a set period. The rule, officially titled as “Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media” — has now been sent to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for approval by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
What makes this move even more surprising is how sharply it contrasts with Trump’s recent remarks, where he appeared to take a more welcoming tone toward international students especially from China and India.
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Just days ago, he said he not only supports Chinese students coming to the U.S. but also wants foreign graduates, particularly from China and India, to stay back after finishing their studies and build businesses in America. Trump said in a press brief, “Look, I’ve always been in favor of students coming in from other countries. That includes China. And we have 500,000 Chinese students coming in.”
He added, “I’m also in favor of having them stay. I’ve been in favor of letting them stay. If you get educated for four years, you’re willing to get educated for four years. I like people being able to stay. You know, they have some great students. They go four years. To me, that’s almost like, you know, getting your — just buying your way in, in a very legitimate way. And you know, you have stories where Apple wants to hire somebody, and they can’t hire because they can’t stay. And I’m all for making sure that people like that can go to work for all of our great companies.”
Now this regulatory move might complicate long-term educational or professional plans for thousands of international students and scholars.