Trump administration wants to overhaul student visa process
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
The Trump administration wants to overhaul the student and exchange visa processes, limiting international students to four-year stays.
Why it matters: The proposed changes come after the Trump administration revoked the visas of international students at colleges nationwide — and after the feds tried to block international students from studying at Harvard University altogether.
Driving the news: The Department of Homeland Security filed plans to submit a proposed change in the federal register Thursday, which would overhaul the process to administer F, J and I visas.
- The department wants to reduce yearslong visa stays and shorten the window for student visa holders to maintain their status or leave the country from 60 days to 30 days.
- After four years, students would have to apply for work visas, such as an H-1B visa, or request an extension of their student visas, under the proposal.
Context: Student visa holders spend at least four years obtaining an undergraduate degree, but they may also spend more time seeking graduate or post-graduate degrees.
- Some get permission through a program called "occupational practical training" to do work related to their studies for a year after they graduate.
By the numbers: DHS cited the department's struggles to manage the rise of international student enrollment, which it said increased from 260,000 in 1981 to roughly 1.6 million in 2023, Newsweek first reported.
- The feds said the U.S. went from issuing 141,200 J visas in 1985 to nearly 500,000 in 2023. I visas also doubled.
- Massachusetts had an estimated 82,000 international students in the 2023-24 school year, per NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
What they're saying: A DHS notice said the change 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."
- The department found 2,100 people who first entered with F-1 visas, the visa for international students, between 2000 and 2010 and still have active F-1 visas as of April 6, per the notice.
- The department didn't specify whether these individuals have stayed in academia or explicitly violated the terms of their visa.
The other side: "It will certainly act as an additional deterrent to international students choosing to study in the United States, to the detriment of American economies, innovation and global competitiveness," said Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, in a statement.
- Aw called the proposal "a dangerous overreach by government into academia" and said international students and exchange visitors are already "rigorously tracked in the SEVIS database."
Threat level: If schools nationwide saw 10% of international student spending drop, Massachusetts would lose an estimated 1,800 jobs and $260 million in GDP, per an analysis published this week.
- The analysis by IMPLAN, a company that tracks economic impact data, suggests the U.S. would lose $3.4 billion in GDP, 26,800 jobs and $1.8 billion in labor income.
Yes, but: President Trump said earlier this week he would want to allow some 600,000 Chinese international students, double the number allowed currently.
- His remarks drew criticisms from some Republican allies, NBC News reported.
- It also contradicts Secretary of State Marco Rubio's remarks in May, promising the United States would "aggressively revoke" visas for Chinese students and increase scrutiny of future visa applications from China.