The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on 27 August released a proposed regulation that would replace the open-ended “duration of status” admission currently granted to many foreign nationals with fixed time limits. The rule would cap F-1 student and J-1 exchange visitor stays at four years and restrict I visas for foreign media representatives to 240 days, although extensions could be requested. Journalists holding Chinese passports would be limited to an initial 90-day stay. DHS said the change is intended to curb visa overstays, improve national-security vetting and reduce what it termed incentives for fraud and abuse. Holder groups would have to apply for extensions and submit biometric data before remaining in the United States beyond the new deadlines. The measure could affect roughly 1.6 million international students, 523 000 exchange visitors and 24 000 foreign journalists who were in the United States last year. Higher-education associations warned the proposal would add costs and uncertainty that could deter enrollment, while China’s foreign ministry condemned the shorter journalist visas as discriminatory. The draft rule was published in the Federal Register, triggering a 30-day public-comment period before DHS can finalize it. A similar plan introduced at the end of Donald Trump’s first term in 2020 was shelved by the Biden administration in 2021; the revival underscores the renewed immigration crackdown in Trump’s second term.