US Student Visa Rules: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed a rule through which the ‘Duration of Status’ framework will be replaced with a fixed visa term. Through ‘Duration of Status’, students are allowed to stay in the country until their course is over. This will change after the introduction of a fixed visa term
America has been bringing top talent for years. One of the main reasons for this is its top universities. Students graduating from here are running big companies. Every year thousands of students from India also come to America to fulfill their American dream. The degree obtained from the university here and the easy visa process had made it easy to focus on studies and job, but now these things are slowly changing. The Trump administration is going to make the visa rules for foreign students very strict.
‘Duration of status’ will end
The Department of Homeland Security ( DHS) has proposed a rule that will replace the ‘Duration of Status’ framework with a fixed visa term. ‘Duration of Status’ allows students to stay in the country until their course is over. This will change after the introduction of a fixed visa term.
The Trump administration has prepared to tighten visa rules for foreign students and impose extra fees on incoming students. The proposals to end the long-running ” Duration of Status ” system and impose higher fees have worried many families, especially from countries like India, where the largest number of students go to study in the US. Experts say that such decisions are having a negative impact on the reputation of higher education in the US.
These rules were in place for 50 years
The US Department of Homeland Security ( DHS) has proposed to end the ” Duration of Status ” or D/S process . For nearly 50 years, this rule allowed F-1 students and foreign students on J-1 exchange programs to remain in the US as long as they continued their studies and complied with the rules. In this, there was no set date on their I-94 document and their activities were mostly monitored by university officials, who then sent the information to DHS records.
Now the Trump administration took this step
The Trump administration believes that some students are taking undue advantage of the current system. They say that some people, even after completing higher education , continue to stay in the US for years by enrolling in new courses or language schools. DHS argues that if a fixed time limit is set on the visa, the government will be able to check easily and such misuse can be prevented.
According to the new proposal, students will be allowed to stay in the US for a maximum of four years or till their course is over, whichever is completed first. If someone needs more time, such as to complete PhD or do OPT, then they will have to apply to USCIS . For this, it will be necessary to fill the form, deposit the fee, submit financial documents, give biometrics and attend the interview if needed.
Now only 60 days discount
Under the new rules, the time students can stay in the US after completing their studies will be reduced from 60 days to just 30 days. There will also be restrictions on changing colleges – graduate students will be required to study for at least one year before transferring, while graduate students will not be allowed to change courses midway. Apart from this, a new degree at the same level or below will not be started while being on an F-1 visa , which will almost eliminate the option of taking a second master’s degree. The duration of language courses will also be limited to a maximum of 24 months.
These are currently draft rules and have not yet been implemented. DHS says there will be scope for changes while making the final rules. Existing students will be given a fixed time limit and a one-time exemption based on their documents . Public opinion on this proposal will be sought from September to the end of October, after which the department will review everyone’s comments. If the process proceeds as planned, these new rules may come into effect in early or mid-2026.
Visa fees have also become very expensive
Along with strict rules, America has now also increased the visa fee . From October 1 , travelers from countries outside the Visa Waiver Program will have to pay a new “Visa Integrity Fee” of $250 . This will increase the total cost of the American visa to $442, which will be counted among the highest visa fees in the world . This decision will especially affect countries like India, China, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, from where a large number of students and professionals go to America.
Industry organizations say that this step has been taken at a time when the number of international passengers is already declining . According to government data , it fell by 3.1 % in July , which shows a decline for the fifth consecutive month . Travel experts believe that if the obstacles increase further , this decline may accelerate , making it more difficult for families and universities to plan for the future .​
