Donald Trump to limit student visas to four years in latest crackdown

US tightens student visa rules with four-year stay limit, requiring extensions for longer academic programmes

The Trump administration is scrapping a decades-old policy that has allowed international students and exchange visitors to remain in the US for as long as their studies last, replacing it with a four-year limit that will require many of them to seek federal permission to stay. 

The change, laid out in a new Department of Homeland Security rule, ranks among one of the most significant shifts to student immigration in a generation.  

Under the rule, students on F visas and exchange visitors on J visas will only be able to stay in the US during the length of their program up to four years.  

 

Anyone needing more time — including most doctoral candidates and physicians in lengthy residencies — will have to file a formal extension request with US Citizenship and Immigration Services, provide biometrics and pay a fee, instead of relying on their schools to manage their status. 

Students already in the US when the rule takes effect will be moved to a fixed-end date based on their current program, plus a grace period, rather than having to leave right away. Those who let their fixed term expire would immediately begin accruing unlawful presence, exposing them to three- and 10-year bans on returning. 

The rule eliminates “duration of status,” the arrangement in place since the early 1990s under which a student’s entry record carries no set expiration date.  

Homeland Security officials has framed the overhaul as a national-security and oversight measure, saying fixed terms give the government more regular chances to confirm that visa holders are following the terms of their stay.  

The rule comes as the Trump administration has stepped up actions against foreign students. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked hundreds of student visas, including those of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts University graduate student Rumeysa Öztürk. The administration says it’s targeting support for Hamas, while the students’ lawyers say they are being punished for protected speech. 

The measure revives an initiative from President Donald Trump’s first term that ran into opposition from medical organizations and college groups, which argued it would burden students trying to finish their degrees with needless red tape. DHS issued the proposal in August 2025 and sent the final version to the White House budget office in May. The Office of Management and Budget signed off on June 17, the last step before release. 

The rule is scheduled to take effect Sept. 15, though Congress could delay or overturn it under the review process for major regulations. DHS also included a provision allowing the rest of the rule to remain in effect if a court blocks individual sections.