TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United States Department of Homeland Security announced on Thursday, July 16, that it would tighten restrictions on international students and exchange program participants, limiting their legal stay to a maximum of four years unless they obtain a federally approved extension.
"Nonimmigrant students (F visas) and exchange visitors (J visas) will be admitted for the length of their specific program, not to exceed a maximum period of four years," the department said in a statement released on its website, as quoted by ANTARA.
According to the statement, the final rule “formally eliminates the ‘duration of status’ loophole” that allowed foreign students, exchange students, and others to remain in the U.S. indefinitely and “without routine government oversight.”
The duration of status provision allows foreign nationals to remain in the U.S. as long as they are actively pursuing the purpose of their visa, rather than setting a definite date when they must leave the country.
"For nearly half a century, the outdated 'duration of status' system has compromised national security and created an environment ripe for immigration fraud," said U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, accusing thousands of foreign students of abusing the U.S. immigration system.
In a statement, Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of NAFSA, a U.S.-based international educators association, described the DHS decision as "an ill-advised and unnecessary policy change that injects uncertainty, bureaucracy, and fear into a system that has long operated effectively."
"It tells the world's brightest students and scholars that the United States is becoming less welcoming, less predictable, and less committed," Aw said.
Read: Why Australia Cuts Indonesian Business Visa Process to 3 Days
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