US Judge Blocks Trump Administration Plan to Limit Student and Scholar Visa Stays

WASHINGTON, Sept 15: A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration policy that sought to impose fixed limits on the length of stay for foreign students, exchange visitors and journalists, just one day before the rule was scheduled to take effect.

US District Judge F Dennis Saylor IV of Massachusetts ruled Monday that the policy was likely to cause “catastrophic” harm to the US economy and higher-education system. He rejected the administration’s argument that the restrictions were necessary to strengthen immigration enforcement and protect national security.

The rule, finalised by the Trump administration in July, would have introduced a four-year maximum stay for international students and exchange visitors. It also proposed a 240 day limit for foreign journalists, while Chinese journalists would have faced a separate 90 day restriction.

Although the policy permitted affected individuals to seek extensions, approval would have depended on the discretion of Department of Homeland Security officials. The rule also did not provide an appeal mechanism for rejected extension requests.

Saylor issued a preliminary injunction preventing the policy from taking effect while the legal challenge proceeds. He also rejected the government’s request to restrict the order only to the organisations and individuals who brought the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs include nearly 600 public and private institutions. However, the judge noted that the United States has more than 5,000 higher-education institutions, making a limited ruling difficult to administer.

According to Saylor, restricting the relief to the named plaintiffs could force authorities to operate parallel regulatory systems and repeatedly determine which students and institutions were covered by the court’s order. Such an approach, he said, could result in inconsistent decisions.

A coalition of organisations, including groups representing universities and labour unions, had challenged the policy in court and sought to have it struck down.

Harvard President Alan M Garber had previously criticised the proposed four-year limit, particularly because many doctoral programmes routinely require more than four years to complete. He described the cutoff as unusual, noting that a typical PhD programme can take at least six years.

The Department of Homeland Security, however, defended the restrictions, arguing that shorter periods of authorised stay would help combat visa fraud and make it easier for authorities to identify and address overstays.

The judge also raised concerns about the potential misuse of the policy, particularly in relation to foreign journalists whose reporting could be critical of the administration or DHS officials.

Saylor said the weak connection between the restrictions and the government’s stated justifications raised legitimate questions about whether the policy could serve purposes beyond national security and border protection, including increased government influence over academic institutions and the press.

The injunction means the proposed restrictions will remain on hold as the court considers the broader legal challenge.