The Trump administration changed a longstanding policy for international student visas Thursday, limiting how long they can stay in the country without approval from the federal government.
The new rule caps visa holders’ duration of stay at four years unless they receive an extension from US Citizenship and Immigration Services, amending a decades-old policy that said as long as the students made progress toward their degree or research purpose, there was no defined expiration date.
The new rule, which also restricts the international students’ ability to transfer schools or change majors without approval in their first year, will go into effect in mid-September.
The changes are the latest measure from the Trump administration to limit international student enrollment at American universities. The Department of Homeland Security said the new rules crack down on “immigration fraud,” but leaders in higher education have raised concerns about the new burdens introduced to maintain a working visa.
“This is yet another action that makes the US immigration system less predictable for international students and scholars, and causes additional stress,” said Miriam Feldblum, the CEO of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration.
Over the last year, international student enrollment has been a key pillar in Trump’s larger attacks on higher education. His administration has attempted to increase visa costs, abruptly cancel visas, and impose bans targeting students at Harvard.
Even as judges have ruled against these efforts, enrollment from international students has still decreased by an average of 20 percent over the last year.
The Trump administration said that the previous regulations allowed for international scholars to become “forever students,” perpetually enrolling in courses to maintain their visa status.
“By implementing clear, finite limits on these visas, the United States is reclaiming its ability to properly screen, vet, and monitor individuals within our borders,” said Markwayne Mullin, the Department of Homeland Security secretary, in a statement. “This final rule ensures that foreign students remain focused on their primary purpose: completing their studies and returning home.”
The new rule also applies to exchange visitors, including professors, and foreign media.
As part of the proposed rule change, an online public comment period received nearly 22,000 online submissions, including letters from postdoctoral students at Harvard, PhD students at MIT, and a letter from Melissa Gilliam, the president of Boston University.
In her letter, Gilliam wrote that the new restrictions would create uncertainty for students, as decisions on application extensions would be left to immigration officers, putting “critical research initiatives and teaching” in jeopardy without any guarantee that they would be able to complete their studies.
At BU, it takes PhD students an average of nearly six years to complete their degrees, she said.
The new rule also hinders the country’s economy, she wrote. She pointed to the fact that the CEOs of several Fortune 500 companies, including Google, NVIDIA, and Microsoft, all came to the United States to pursue their education, an advantage that would be lost as the changes “hold back our country’s economy and global competitiveness.”
In the 2024-25 school year, BU had roughly 12,000 students on international visas and 700 visiting scholars who would be impacted by these changes, she wrote.
The Trump administration proposed a similar change in 2020 that would have limited visas to a two-year period. The rule was not passed before his term ended and was later withdrawn by the Biden administration.
Michaela Towfighi can be reached at michaela.towfighi@globe.com. Follow her on X @michaelatowfghi.