The Trump administration has finalized plans to impose more stringent regulations on international students, including prohibiting them from remaining in the United States for longer than four years unless authorized by the federal government.
There will also be limitations on the ability to transfer between colleges and universities and change programs. Higher education institutions had the authority to extend visas up until this point.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the policy “combats rampant visa abuse, and strengthens national security through regular vetting” and will take effect in September.
The new regulations were deemed “misguided and unnecessary” by the Association of International Educators.
Prior to this, international students with F-1 and J-1 exchange visas were admitted to the US under “duration of status,” which allowed them to stay for as long as they needed to complete their degrees. The duration of that stay will be limited under the new regulations.
“For decades, foreign students have been admitted into the US indefinitely, allowing thousands to abuse our immigration system by perpetually enrolling in courses to avoid having to leave the US,” stated Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
Graduate level programs, such as doctorates, usually take longer to finish than undergraduate programs, which are usually four years long in the US.
The majority of overseas students are enrolled in graduate-level courses, particularly those related to science and technology.
Research for those courses usually takes longer to finish and publish. The duration of the study might also frequently be extended by personal circumstances and research funding shortages.
The former 60-day grace period has been reduced to 30 days for international students to pack up and depart after graduation or switch to a different visa category under the new regulations.
The new regulations were criticized by NAFSA: Association of International Educators, a nonprofit that counsels schools on the enrolling of international students.
The new policy “injects uncertainty, bureaucracy, and fear into a system that has long worked effectively,” according to its chief executive, Fanta Aw. It is a solution looking for an issue.
The Trump administration’s larger strategy to lower the number of international students and limit immigration to the US includes these new regulations.
The government has pushed to curb the number of foreign students at some selective universities and moved to cancel the visas of students who have been critical of US foreign policy.
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