The new rules abolish unlimited stay and require extensions after the fixed visa period for students and foreign media.
Published July 16, 2026
President Donald Trump’s administration will impose new deadlines on visas for foreign students, exchange visitors and journalists, ending a decades-old system that allowed many students to stay in the United States as long as they attend school or serve on assignments.
Under new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations announced Thursday, international students and exchange visitors will generally be limited to four years in the country, while foreign journalists will be allowed in the country for up to 240 days at a time, and Chinese nationals will be allowed up to 90 days.
Those who wish to stay longer will need to apply for an extension or leave the country and apply to return.
The regulation, which will take effect 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register pending review by Congress, could affect enrollment in college programs starting in August and September.
This is the latest step in President Trump’s broader immigration crackdown since returning to office in January 2025.
“For too long, past administrations have allowed international students and other visa holders to remain in the United States virtually indefinitely, posing security risks, costing millions of taxpayers, and disadvantaging American citizens,” a DHS news release said last summer, when the change was first proposed.
The government says the changes will make it easier to track people with these visas.
“DHS has numerous examples of individuals remaining in student or exchange visitor status for decades,” the rule states.
The department announced that more than 2,100 students who first enrolled as students between 2000 and 2010 were found to still have student status as of April of this year, either by enrolling in new programs, transferring schools, or extending their program dates to remain in the United States.
The regulation also tightens restrictions on international students’ ability to transfer schools or change their academic programs, especially at the graduate level.
According to DHS, student visa enrollment in 2024 was more than 1.8 million, an increase of more than 11% from the previous year.
The department also said the U.S. hosted more than 500,000 exchange visitors and approximately 37,300 foreign journalists during fiscal year 2024, which ended Sept. 30, 2024.
“The significant increase in these visitors poses challenges to DHS’s ability to monitor and supervise these nonimmigrants while in the United States,” the department said.
This is the latest step in President Trump’s broader push to tighten restrictions on both illegal and legal immigration.
The State Department announced in June that it had canceled the visas of more than 100,000 people, including 8,000 students, since President Trump returned to office last year. Many of these students had their visas revoked due to their political activities.
Immigrant advocacy groups and universities have warned that the policy risks making the United States less attractive as a place to study, teach and research by increasing costs and discouraging people from coming to the country for long-term study programs.
