The Trump administration is being sued by a group of unions and groups aiming to block a rule that limits how long foreign students and journalists can remain in the country without an extension.
The new rule at the center of the lawsuit integrates a fixed period of time rather than relying upon the “duration of status” loophole, joining other visa programs in doing so. It takes effect September 15.
“For decades, foreign students have been admitted into the U.S. indefinitely, allowing thousands to abuse our immigration system by perpetually enrolling in courses to avoid having to leave the U.S. 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,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a July statement. “This final rule ensures that foreign students remain focused on their primary purpose: completing their studies and returning home.”
The groups argue in the lawsuit that the visa shifts will “discourage foreign students and other nonimmigrants from coming to the United States, repelled by the intolerable prospect of losing lawful immigration status partway through their studies.”
“Students will lose opportunities, schools will lose talent, and the public will lose billions of dollars of economic contributions supported by one of the United States’ top exports: education,” it says. “DHS and its personnel, too, will suffer, flooded with hundreds of thousands of new extension of stay requests each year.”
Miriam Feldblum, President and CEO of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, a group involved in the lawsuit, said in a statement that timing limits “disrupt educational pathways, impose significant new burdens on colleges and universities, and make the United States less competitive as the premier destination for global talent.”
