Trump admin sued over visa time restrictions for foreign students, journalists

A group of unions and advocacy groups filed a lawsuit on Tuesday seeking to block the Trump administration from enforcing new visa restrictions that would limit how long foreign students and journalists can stay in the U.S. without applying for extensions.

The Department of Homeland Security's rule creates fixed periods of admission for people in F status as international students, J status as exchange visitors and I status as foreign journalists.

People in those classifications generally have been admitted for the duration of their studies, exchange programs or qualifying media assignments rather than until a fixed date.

Under the new rule, set to take effect on September 15, F students and J exchange visitors generally would be admitted for the length of their program, for no more than four years at a time, and would have to seek an extension to remain longer.

TRUMP ADMIN PLANS TO IMPOSE 4-YEAR LIMITS FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS STUDYING IN US The period of admission for most foreign journalists in I status, which currently can last years, would be limited to 240 days, while I-status journalists presenting PRC passports, excluding Hong Kong and Macau SAR passport holders, generally would be admitted for up to 90 days.

Journalists may seek extensions of up to 240 days, or 90 days for the covered PRC passport holders, but no longer than the length of their assignment.

In the lawsuit, the coalition said the new changes would be "catastrophic" for universities, international students and scholars and the U.S.

"They will discourage foreign students and other nonimmigrants from coming to the United States, repelled by the intolerable prospect of losing lawful immigration status partway through their studies," the groups said in the lawsuit.

The rule does not require international students to complete their studies within four years; students in longer programs may apply to extend their stay.

It separately imposes new restrictions on transfers and changes in educational objectives, including limits affecting some graduate-level students.

Foreign students, notably, typically pay more tuition and receive fewer scholarship opportunities, meaning the proposed rule may have a financial impact on U.S. colleges if it leads to a dip in international enrollment.

"Students will lose opportunities, schools will lose talent, and the public will lose billions of dollars of economic contributions supported by one of the United States’ top exports: education," the complaint reads.

The Department of Homeland Security dismissed the lawsuit as "performative," arguing that the changes would root out fraud without offering evidence of the alleged fraud.