The US authorities aim to tighten the visa period for students, cultural exchange visitors and media representatives, according to a proposal for a government regulation published on Monday, part of broader measures against legal immigration, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
President Donald Trump has launched a wide-ranging crackdown on immigration since taking office in January. The current move would create new hurdles for international students, exchange workers and foreign journalists, who would have to apply to extend their stay in the US rather than maintain a more flexible legal status.
The proposed regulation would create a fixed time period for visas for foreign students, visas that allow cultural exchange visitors to work in the US, and visas for members of the media.
According to US government data, there were about 1.6 million foreign students in the US on student visas in 2024. The US issued visas to about 355,000 exchange visitors and 13,000 for members of the media in the 2024 fiscal year, which began on October 1, 2023.
The terms of student and exchange visas would not be longer than four years, the proposed regulation says. The journalist visa, which can currently last for years, would be for up to 240 days, or, in the case of Chinese citizens, 90 days. Visa holders could apply for extensions, the proposal said.
The Trump administration said in the proposed regulation that the change was needed to better “monitor and control” visa holders while they are in the United States.
The public would have 30 days to comment on the measure, which echoes a proposal introduced in 2020 at the end of Trump’s first term.