The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is proposing a four-year time limit on student and exchange visas to allow for better monitoring of those visa holders.
“For too long, past administrations have allowed foreign students and other visa holders to remain in the US virtually indefinitely, posing safety risks, costing untold amounts of taxpayer dollars, and disadvantaging US citizens,” a DHS spokesperson said.
“This new proposed rule would end that abuse once and for all by limiting the amount of time certain visa holders are allowed to remain in the US, easing the burden on the federal government to properly oversee foreign students and history.”
A proposal filed yesterday with the Federal Register calls for the maximum stay period for student (F) and exchange (J) visa holders to be set at four years.
For foreign media visas (I), the period would be set to a maximum of 240 days.
Currently, those who hold visas in those categories are typically permitted to remain in the US once they are pursuing a full-time course of study and complying with the stipulated requirements.
The Department of Homeland Security said in its proposal that the increase in student, exchange and foreign media visas under these circumstances “has undermined DHS’s ability to effectively enforce compliance with the statutory inadmissibility grounds related to unlawful presence and has created incentives for fraud and abuse”.
“During the length of their stay for [duration of status], a period of admission without a specified end date, these nonimmigrants are not required to have direct interaction with DHS, except for a few limited instances, such as when applying for employment authorization for optional practical training (OPT) or for reinstatement if they have failed to maintain status,” it said.
“Admission for [duration of status], in general, does not afford immigration officers enough predetermined opportunities to directly verify that aliens granted such nonimmigrant statuses are engaging only in those activities their respective classifications authorize while they are in the United States.”
The proposal notes that nonimmigrants who would like to stay in the United States beyond their fixed date of admission would need to apply directly to DHS for an extension of stay.
“DHS anticipates that many F, J, and I nonimmigrants would be able to complete their activities within their period of admission,” it said.
“However, those who could not generally would be able to request an extension to their period of admission from an immigration officer.
“DHS believes that this process would help to mitigate risks posed by aliens who seek to exploit these programs and live in the United States on a non-temporary basis in contradiction with the underlying statutory language that applies to their nonimmigrant status.”
However, the proposal also noted that “a delay in completing one’s program by the program end date specified on the Form I-20, which includes but is not limited to delays caused by academic probation or suspension or a student’s repeated inability or unwillingness to complete his or her course of study, generally is an unacceptable reason for program extensions for F nonimmigrants”.
While many university students are able to complete undergraduate degrees within a four-year period, it is not uncommon for some to take longer to complete a Bachelor’s program.
The proposal from DHS also seeks to prohibit graduate-level F-1 students from changing programs at any point during a program of study.
“These changes would ensure that DHS has an effective mechanism to periodically and directly assess whether these nonimmigrants are complying with the conditions of their classifications and US immigration laws, and to obtain timely and accurate information about the activities these aliens have engaged in and plan to engage in during their temporary stay in the United States,” it said.
The proposal represents the latest attempt by the Trump administration to tighten rules as it relates to the granting of student visas.
In May, student visa interviews were paused worldwide. When they resumed weeks later, it was announced that applicants would be subject to “comprehensive” vetting, including a thorough review of their social media profiles.
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