The Trump administration has introduced a new proposal that would shorten the time foreign students, cultural exchange visitors, and international journalists can legally stay in the United States.
The regulation, released in official documents on Wednesday, represents the latest measure in President Trump’s broader immigration overhaul since returning to office.
Under the plan, F visas for international students, J visas for exchange programs, and I visas for journalists would no longer remain valid for the length of a study program or work assignment. Instead, each would have a set time limit.
Student and exchange visas would be capped at four years, while media visas would be restricted to 240 days.
For Chinese journalists, the maximum would drop to just 90 days. Visa holders could apply for extensions, but the process would be more restrictive than the current open-ended system.
Government data shows the scope of those affected. In 2024, about 1.6 million international students were in the U.S. on F visas.
That same year, roughly 355,000 people entered on cultural exchange programs, and around 13,000 foreign journalists were granted visas.
The proposed change would place new hurdles on all these groups, requiring them to seek renewals if their studies, work, or reporting lasted beyond the new limits.
Officials argue that fixed visa terms will improve monitoring and prevent overstays, saying stronger oversight is necessary to safeguard U.S. interests.
The public has been given 30 days to submit comments before the rule can advance further.
This is not the first time such a measure has surfaced. A similar regulation was proposed in 2020 during Trump’s first presidency, but it was scrapped by President Joe Biden in 2021.
The new move shows a return to tighter control over both legal and illegal immigration.
Trump officials have also recently revived in-person investigations of citizenship applicants, with officers instructed to check residency claims, moral character, and loyalty to American values.
Together with the visa proposal, the changes underscore the administration’s tougher stance toward migrants, students, and foreign workers seeking to remain in the U.S.