More trouble for international students in US as Trump admin seeks to limit visa tenure: Report

Experts believe the change could be brought in as an interim final rule, making it effective immediately without the need for public comments

Trouble for international students in the US is going to mount further as the US administration has proposed a new rule that limit the periods of stay for international students, exchange visitors and foreign information media representatives to a fixed duration, a report by the Times of India said.

The proposal by the department of homeland security has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget, whose head directly reports to the US President Donald Trump, the report said.

Once the proposal is reviewed, it will be published in the Federal Register, TOI said. Usually, a window of 30 to 60 days is provided for public comments and suggestions before the rule is made final. However, experts told TOI that the change could be brought in as an interim final rule, making it effective immediately without the need for public comments.

The move could add to already growing visa-related concerns among the international students in the US.

Recently, the US administration had issued a new directive that needs all student and exchange visa – F, M, or J non-immigrant visa – applicants to make their social media accounts public.

“Effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J nonimmigrant visa are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media accounts to public to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States under US law,” US Embassy in India had said in a post on X on June 23.