This is the latest attempt to tighten legal immigration in the country.
According to the amendments, which may come into effect as early as September, foreigners with student visas will be allowed to live in the country for the academic program, but no longer than four years.
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The duration of foreign journalists’ stay in the country will be limited to 240 days – about eight months – but they will be able to apply to extend this period for a similar term. Chinese citizens will be granted only 90 days, with the possibility to extend for another 90 days.
This step is part of broader immigration control, which D. Trump made a key focus of his presidency. It includes aggressive operations in major cities and new restrictions on legal ways to obtain citizenship.
Media rights advocacy groups condemned the new rules, and the organization “Reporters Without Borders” (RSF) expressed outrage over these restrictions to the AFP news agency on Thursday.
“This change destroys the ability of international journalists to report from the US and makes the work of international media here extremely difficult,” warned Ben Grazda from RSF.
The group urged the US Congress to take action so that foreign journalists can work freely in the country.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called this move a “sign of democratic decline” and the latest example of “press freedom violations carried out by this administration that cause great concern.”
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) received nearly 22,000 public comments after proposing these student and journalist rules in August 2025, but in the final version, they remained essentially unchanged.
In presenting this rule, DHS stated that non-Americans were extending their studies indefinitely to stay in the country as “perpetual students.”
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The department indicated that the open system, valid for students since the late 1980s, harmed the ability to monitor visa holders.
According to official data, in the 2023–2024 academic year, the United States admitted more than 1.1 million international students – more than any other country. International students contributed more than $50 billion (about €43.68 billion) to the US economy in 2023.
Higher education groups condemned the proposal as an unnecessary bureaucratic obstacle that will deter talented students. The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration warned that it “weakens the ability of US colleges and universities to attract the best talent.”
Universities have already reported a decrease in the number of international students following previous actions by the D. Trump administration, including the cancellation of thousands of student visas and the suspension of billions of dollars in federal research funding.
Media organizations and international stakeholders, including the Japanese embassy, urged DHS to allow a two-to-five-year stay period for correspondents working in US offices.
The department rejected these proposals, as well as requests for expedited application processing and tax limits for journalists.
D. Trump proposed similar restrictions at the end of his first term, but his successor Joe Biden rejected the idea.
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The rule still needs to be reviewed by the Republican-controlled Congress.
