The new rules limit student and exchange visas to four years, while most journalist visas are limited to 240 days.
Published August 19, 2026
A coalition of U.S. labor unions and advocacy groups has sued the federal government to block rules that limit how long foreign students and journalists can stay in the country without applying for an extension.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the groups said the changes would be “devastating” for universities, international students and academics.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
The Department of Homeland Security’s new rules put a fixed period on F visas for international students, J visas that allow visitors participating in cultural exchange programs to work in the United States, and I visas for media workers.
These visas are currently available for the duration of your program or employment in the United States.
Under the new regulations, which are scheduled to come into effect on September 15, student visas and exchange visas will be valid for up to four years. Journalists’ visas are currently valid for several years, with a maximum of 240 days, and 90 days for Chinese nationals.
“They will discourage foreign students and other nonimmigrants from coming to the United States, disgusted by the unbearable prospect of losing their legal immigration status midway through their studies,” the groups said in the lawsuit.
“Students will lose opportunities, schools will lose talent, and Americans will lose billions of dollars in economic contributions fueled by one of America’s greatest exports: education.”
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the case is “performative.”
“If the media truly cared about legitimate international students, they would thank President (Donald) Trump for cracking down on rampant fraud to ensure that only those who truly intended to study in the United States were afforded the privilege,” the spokesperson said, without providing any evidence of the alleged fraud.
John Schleuth, president of the News Guild of America and CWA, called the new rules an attack on journalists.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, the national teachers’ union, said the United States is using international students as “pawns” and “breaking the law for its own political ends, thereby harming Americans and American businesses.”
“The Trump administration’s recent attacks on knowledge, which arbitrarily limit the amount of time international scholars have to complete their research, risk turning a welcoming environment into a hostile one for students,” Weingarten said.
