China urges the US to withdraw ‘discriminatory’ new visa policy for foreigners living in the states – UK Times

The Trump administration has moved to significantly tighten the duration of visas for foreign students, cultural exchange visitors, and journalists, a policy shift that could create new hurdles for thousands seeking to enter the United States.

A new rule from the Department of Homeland Security establishes fixed time periods for F visas for international students, J visas for cultural exchange program participants, and I visas for members of the media. These visas are currently granted for the duration of a program or employment in the U.S.

Under the new regulations, student and exchange visa periods would be capped at no longer than four years. Visas for journalists, which can currently last for years, would be limited to 240 days, or just 90 days for Chinese nationals. The new policy is set to take effect 60 days after its publication in the federal register, pending congressional review.

This action aligns with a broader immigration crackdown initiated by President Donald Trump after taking office. His administration has increased scrutiny of legal immigration, previously revoking student visas and green cards from university students based on their ideological views and stripping legal status from hundreds of thousands of migrants.

While the new rule creates additional obstacles, visa holders would retain the option to apply for extensions.

China’s foreign ministry on Friday condemned the U.S. move as “discriminatory” and urged Washington to immediately withdraw the new visa policy targeting Chinese journalists.

Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated at a press conference in Beijing that the action “seriously violates the three-point consensus on media issues reached between China and the U.S. in 2021, and seriously affects the normal work of Chinese media in the U.S.”

Lin added that China reserves the right to implement reciprocal countermeasures.

STUDENT STIPULATIONS

The regulations prohibit graduate students from changing their “educational objectives” at any point or from transferring to another school without authorization. They halve the amount of time students have to leave the United States after completing their degree or training from 60 to 30 days.

“Most Americans understand the value of welcoming international students and getting rid of needless red tape,” said Doug Rand, a former DHS official. “This rule would do the opposite.”

David J. Bier, immigration studies director at the Cato Institute, said there was no legal basis for the study and transfer restrictions in the new regulations.

“International students, many of whom will have spent years in the USA, will now have just 30 days to find an employer to sponsor them or immediately be turned into illegal immigrants. Have these people no understanding of how life works?” he added.

The department cited a dramatic rise in such visas in the posting. It said there were more than 1.8 million student visa admissions in 2024, a more than 11% increase over the previous year.

The U.S. granted visas to more than 500,000 exchange visitors and 37,300 members of the media in fiscal year 2024, which began on October 1, 2023, it said.

The significant increase in the volume of such visitors “poses a challenge to DHS’s ability to monitor and oversee these non-immigrants while they are in the United States,” DHS said.

DHS said it has many examples of students and exchange visitors staying for decades on their visas.

Visa holders who want to stay in the United States beyond their fixed period of admission will need to apply to DHS for an extension or gain readmission by traveling abroad and then re-entering the United States, DHS said.