 "The Library of Columbia University is seen as students walk the campus in New York, US, December 16, 2017. File Photo/Reuters")
In what could be a setback for Indian students, the United States is mulling a time limit on the stay of foreign students and exchange visitors. Reports say the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed a rule to fix the visa tenure for certain categories.
Since coming to power in January, US President Donald Trump has cracked down on immigration and targeted pro-Palestine students on campuses, accusing them of “anti-semitism”.
What is the proposed rule? How will it affect Indian students?
Let’s take a closer look.
‘Time limit’ on stay for foreign students in US?
The DHS has suggested a rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to have “fixed periods of stay” for foreign students, exchange visitors, and representatives of international information media, as per a Times of India (TOI) report.
A similar plan was first proposed in 2020 during Trump’s first term. However, it was not finalised then.
Currently, the US has a flexible student visa system. Foreign students can stay in the country as long as they continue their full-time studies in approved programmes.
The Trump administration is now seeking to replace the current “duration of status” with a fixed period of stay.
The OMB will review the proposal by DHS. After this, the rule will be published in the Federal Register. A window of up to 60 days is open to invite public comments and it takes months before a rule is finalised.
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How will it impact Indians
If the US changes the visa rules, it could have a major impact on Indian students. There were 4.2 lakh Indian students in the US in 2024, with India continuing to be the largest source of foreign students in the country.
The proposed rule would fix their period of stay, which would result in foreign students applying for visa extensions after that period.
Speaking to TOI, Rajiv S Khanna, managing attorney at Immigration.com, explained, “Currently, international students can stay in the US as long as they are maintaining their full-time student status in approved programs. This is referred to as ‘duration of status’. The Trump administration wants to change this to a predefined period of stay. With a fixed expiration date on their visa, international students would have to periodically apply for extensions.”
“This will create additional unnecessary delays, financial burden and uncertainty for students. Considering that an average extension of status request can take a few months to process, these types of restrictive regulations will increase the uncertainty international students would face,” he added.
Student overstay is cited as the reason for proposing the change. However, the figures say otherwise. The overstay rate for student and exchange visitors (J visa) was just 3.6 per cent in 2023.
Mitch Wexler, Senior Counsel at Fragomen, a global immigration law firm, told the newspaper that the proposed revision could also affect policies relating to unlawful presence. “Currently, international students accrue unlawful presence only after US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) makes a formal finding or an immigration judge orders the individual to be excluded, deported or removed. This could change and unlawful presence could accrue after the last date of their finite authorised stay, except in a narrow set of circumstances,” he said.
Trump’s crackdown on universities, foreign students
Foreign individuals and immigrants have been increasingly targeted under the Trump administration.
The US president has clamped down on universities to eliminate “anti-semitism” on campuses. The Trump administration has accused Harvard University of violating federal civil rights law by not protecting Jewish students from “harassment” during campus protests, reported The New York Times.
The White House has frozen $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard. With the varsity refusing to comply with the conditions of the Trump administration, the government has put restrictions on the number of international students to be enrolled at the university.
In April, the DHS announced that its agents would start screening the social media accounts of immigrants for so-called “antisemitic activity”.
Those seeking US student visas have also been told to change the privacy settings on their social media profiles to “public.”
With inputs from agencies