The rule would establish a maximum length of stay for student visa holders

The Trump administration issued a notice Wednesday stating its intention to propose a new rule in the fall of 2019 establishing a maximum permitted length of stay for foreign students and other holders of certain nonimmigrant visas.

The government said the proposed rule is "intended to reduce the impact of overstaying non-immigrant student stays and improve the integrity of the non-immigrant student visa". International trade advocates, however, fear that the introduction of such a rule will limit the flexibility of international students and scholars and undermine the efforts of American universities to recruit them. The number of international students in the United States decreased during the 2017-2018 academic year after years of steady growth.

At present, student visas are generally valid for a "term of status", which means that foreign students in the United States can remain indefinitely as long as they retain their student status. Students may lose their status by failing to complete a full-time study program or by working without permission. However, as long as they respect the rules related to their student visa, they can stay in the United States, be transferred to other institutions and progress from one academic level to another. Indeed, the length of their stay in the United States is dictated by the length of their university programs.

The new rule proposed for next September would replace the authorized length of stay of the "statute of tenure" with a maximum term set for certain nonimmigrant visa holders, including F-1 student visa holders. The notice issued Wednesday does not specify what would be the maximum length of stay of student visa holders, but it indicates that there would be options for extension in each applicable visa category.

"Failure to provide certain categories of nonimmigrants with specific dates for their authorized stays can lead to confusion over the length of their legal stay in the United States and complicate efforts to reduce overage rates. non-immigrant students, "justified the rule provided said. "The clarity created by admissions by a certain date will help reduce the rate of overstaying."

Jill Welch, Deputy Executive Director for Public Policy at NAFSA: Association of International Educators, issued a statement describing the proposed change as a break with decades of precedent.

"For decades, foreign students and academics have been granted immigration status called" status term "or" D / S "that lasts the entire period in which they undertake their education and practical training. They Are Carefully Selected and Reviewed The US Department of Homeland Security's Visitor and Student Information System (SEVIS) is essential to maintaining this policy, as time for study or research can fluctuate according to the changing goals and actions of the student or researcher, global competition for talent, and we need to make sure our policies are welcoming, "said Welch.

She added, "While universities and colleges across the country are striving to welcome valuable and conscientious international students and academics to our campuses and communities, their efforts are undermined by policies and regulations that close our doors even more and contribute to the success of America.

The Trump administration has made a number of regulatory and sub-regulatory changes that are changing the landscape of international education in the United States in different ways. One of the most important is the recent change in the way in which foreign students admitted to the United States for a specified period of time obtain the status of "illegal presence", a determination that could subject them to undue hardship. ban of five or ten years upon their return to the country. The final policy directive issued in August indicates that the illegal presence will begin to accumulate the day after a student stops pursuing studies or otherwise violates his / her immigrant status, rather than – as such Was the case in the previous policy – the next day the Department of Homeland Security publishes a formal finding of violation as part of the processing of a request for new immigration benefit or the day after the day a judge makes an eviction order.

Stephen Yale-Loehr, professor of immigration law at Cornell University, warned that the expected rule on the duration of visas might never succeed. "Historically, the semiannual regulatory agenda contains many points that do not even make it a rule proposal," he said. "If that happens, it will be slow, they will have to come up with a rule, then ask for comment, and then review it before issuing a final rule.The final rule may be subject to litigation in the courts. worry immediately. "

"That said, if such a rule comes into force, there are pros and cons," said Yale-Loehr. "This would take some flexibility away from people who might take longer than expected to complete their studies.On the other hand, the guidelines on illegal presence published in August create a lot of uncertainty for foreign students because do not have a fixed time limit, so that they can be considered afterwards as having been illegally here.Having a fixed duration would give at least a clear demarcation line to measure the beginning of the illegal presence. "