The US government’s announcement to end the duration of status visa rule has been met with criticism from educators, who argue that the change is unnecessary and will drive talent away from the US. The new policy, set to take effect on September 15, 2026, establishes fixed visa time limits for student and exchange visitors, who must apply for an extension to stay in the US for more than four years.
DHS secretary Markwayne Mullin said that the old policy “compromised national security and created an environment ripe for immigration fraud” by allowing students to stay in the US indefinitely. However, educators dispute this claim, arguing that international students are already closely tracked through the SEVIS system.
NAFSA CEO Fanta Aw said that the government is “looking for a problem that doesn’t exist” and that the SEVIS system already provides the necessary tools to monitor international students. Presidents’ Alliance deputy director of federal policy Zuzana Cepla Wootson called the action “unnecessary and duplicative” and argued that it shifts decisions about academic progress from colleges and universities to the federal government.
Aw expressed concern about doctoral students, who will have to go through an extension process, and argued that the government’s arbitrary deadline for completion “makes zero sense”. She also pointed out that the average undergraduate student in the US takes longer than four years to complete their bachelor’s degree, and that those pursuing optional practical training work opportunities will require an extension of stay.
AIEA CEO Clare Overmann highlighted the challenging timing of the rule, which will take effect in the middle of the academic year, and said that campuses have been preparing for the change. Many fear that uncertainty and confusion about the rule will further dampen the appeal of the US among prospective international students.
Wootson argued that the rule imposes unnecessary burdens on international students and scholars, campuses, employers, and federal agencies, and called it a “counterproductive” move that will ultimately harm the US economy.
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Senior immigration attorney Diego Menendez of Alma Immigration expressed concern about inconsistencies in how the regulations will be applied across US ports of entry and advised students to promptly check their records upon each re-entry to flag any discrepancies.
Menendez said that CBP officers will have to make “meaningfully more complex judgement calls” with a short training window, which could lead to bureaucratic headaches. Aw raised concerns about the new extension requirements exacerbating “massive backlogs” and called for clarity from the government on the earliest time students can apply for an extension and what it can guarantee in terms of processing times.
For institutions already under financial strain, the staffing and resources required to meet the additional burden will be huge, with Aw concerned about retention of staff within the field. The field has been “overburdened in inordinate ways” and “the tsunami just keeps coming”.
Critics argue that the rule will accelerate the trend of declining international enrollments. Wootson said that students have choices, and if they aren’t confident they can complete their education in the US without unnecessary uncertainty and administrative hurdles, they will increasingly choose other countries, which may be part of the expansion of state chapters in the US education system.
International students are closely tracked through the SEVIS system, a digital records system run by the government, which was established in the wake of 9/11.
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