Foreign students face tight new visa time limits in US

THE U.S. PLANS TO IMPOSE FOUR-YEAR CAP ON FOREIGN STUDENTS’ STAY IN THE COUNTRY AND REDUCE GRACE PERIODS, IN AN ATTEMPT TO CURB ‘VISA ABUSE’

- Shashank Mattoo

The Trump administration has proposed sweeping changes to student visa rules that would impose four-year caps on foreign students’ stay in America and reduce grace periods, in a bid to curb “visa abuse”.

The draft regulation would end the decades-old “duration of status” system that has allowed foreign students to remain throughout their studies since 1978. Media representatives would face even stricter 240-day limits under the proposed rules.

The proposal could force hundreds of thousands of Indian students to reconsider their American education plans.

Under current rules, students can also pursue Optional Practical Training (OPT) in America after graduation before facing a 60-day grace period to change visa status or depart.