By Miriam Humbe
The United States Department of Homeland Security, (DHS), has announced a major overhaul of its visa rules for international students, exchange visitors, and foreign journalists.
The new regulation replaces the long-standing “duration of status” system with fixed admission periods.
Published on July 16, 2026, the rule is scheduled to take effect 60 days later in September 2026, after a standard congressional review period.
The announcement comes as the Donald Trump administration continues to tighten immigration policies following his return to office in January 2025. The administration has already increased scrutiny of legal immigration, including revoking student visas and green cards over ideological views, and ending the legal status of hundreds of thousands of migrants.
Key changes to F, J, and I visas
Under the proposed changes:
– F and J visa holders — students and exchange visitors — will be granted admission for no more than 4 years.
– Foreign journalists on I visas, who can currently stay for years, will be limited to a *maximum of 240 days.
– Chinese journalists will face an even shorter limit of 90 days.
DHS said affected visa holders can still apply for extensions, but anyone wishing to stay beyond their approved period must either apply for an extension through DHS or leave the country and seek readmission.
—‘Why the change?—
DHS said the policy shift was prompted by a sharp increase in visa admissions.
According to the department:
– Student visa admissions hit 1.8 million in 2024, an 11% increase from the previous year.
– During FY 2024, the US also issued visas to over 500,000 exchange visitors and *37,300 members of the media.
The department stated that the growing number of visitors “poses a challenge to DHS’ ability to monitor and oversee these non-immigrants while they are in the United States.”
DHS added that it has identified cases of students and exchange visitors remaining in the country for decades under the current rules.
–What it means for Nigerians and other applicants–
The new fixed-period system means prospective students, exchange scholars, and journalists from Nigeria and other countries will need to plan for renewals or re-entry if their programs or assignments run longer than the new caps.
(The Conclave)
