New York/Washington: The Trump administration is proposing to limit the duration of visas for foreign students and media personnel in the US.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a press release on Wednesday that the proposed rule, if finalised, would limit the length of time certain visa holders, including foreign students, can stay in the country.

Since 1978, foreign students (F visa holders) have been admitted under an unspecified period called “duration of status,” allowing them to remain in the US indefinitely without additional screening. The Trump administration said some foreign students have exploited this to remain perpetually enrolled in higher education.

“For too long, past administrations have allowed foreign students and other visa holders to remain in the US virtually indefinitely, posing safety risks, costing untold amounts of taxpayer dollars, and disadvantaging US citizens,” a DHS spokesperson said. “This new proposed rule would end that abuse by limiting the time certain visa holders can remain in the US.”

For foreign media personnel on I visas, typically issued for five years and extendable, the rule would set the initial admission at up to 240 days, with an extension of up to 240 days, not exceeding the length of the assignment.

For foreign students and exchange visitors, the federal government would set authorised admission and extension periods up to the duration of their programme, not exceeding four years. Extensions would require approval from US Citizenship and Immigration Services, subject to DHS assessment.

The proposed rule was first introduced under Trump in 2020 but was withdrawn by the Biden administration in 2021.

Separately, the Trump administration plans changes to the H-1B programme and the Green Card process. US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said, “I'm involved in changing the H1B programme. We're going to change that programme, because that's terrible.”

The move comes amid strained US-India ties following the imposition of 50 per cent tariffs on Indian purchases of Russian oil, effective Wednesday.