Trump bid to restrict international student visas dropped

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Joe Biden’s administration has withdrawn a proposal by his predecessor, Donald Trump, to bring in visa restrictions for academic students, exchange visitors and representatives of foreign media.

In a statement on 6 July, the US Department of Homeland Security announced that it was withdrawing the Trump proposal, which would have replaced a ‘duration of status’ admission period with a fixed time period of stay.

Currently, international students can remain in the US indefinitely without reapplying for a visa, provided that they stay enrolled in college and in compliance with the requirements governing their visa status.

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Under the Trump proposal, non-immigrants seeking to remain in the United States beyond their fixed period of admission would have been required to apply for an extension of stay directly with US Citizenship and Immigration Services or to depart the country and apply for admission with US Customs and Border Protection at a port of entry.

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Students from Africa and parts of Asia would have been disproportionately affected by the proposal to restrict students to a two-year initial visa term if they came from countries with high visa overstay rates, Inside Higher Ed reported.

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In response to the Trump proposal, the Department of Homeland Security received more than 32,000 comments during the 30-day public comment period. More than 99% of commenters opposed the proposed rule, with many commenters specifically requesting that the Department of Homeland Security withdraw it.

Fewer than 1% expressed support for the proposed rule, with such commenters generally doing so because they believed it would deter illegal immigration, protect US workers and stop espionage.

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In his withdrawal statement, Alejandro N Mayorkas, secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, said the commenters who opposed the proposal argued that it discriminated against certain groups of people based on their nationality.

“They also argued that it would significantly burden the foreign students, exchange scholars, foreign media representatives, and US employers by requiring extension of stays in order to continue with their programmes of study or work,” the withdrawal statement said.

Commenters additionally noted the proposed rule would impose “exorbitant costs and burdens” on foreign students, scholars and media representatives due to the direct cost of the extension of stay application fee, as well as the lost opportunity cost of not being able to begin their work on time if the extension were not adjudicated by the government in a timely fashion.

They said that US employers would be similarly burdened by the proposed changes because many non-citizens may not be able to apply for an extension of stay or have it approved in a timely fashion, thereby delaying the possible start dates of employees and-or cause them to lose potential job candidates.

On 2 February 2021, President Biden issued an executive order that instructed the secretary of homeland security to identify barriers that impeded access to immigration benefits. Having reviewed the public comments received in response to the Trump proposal, the Department of Homeland Security “believes some of the comments may be justified and is concerned that the changes proposed unnecessarily impede access to immigration benefits”.

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