According to a Wednesday statement from the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), the law seeks to curb “visa abuse” and increase the
agency’s ability to “properly vet” visitors.

If finalised, international students would have a four-year
cap on their visas, replacing the current “duration of status” system, which
allows indefinite stays as long as the student remains enrolled.

Justifying the move, the DHS said foreign students have
taken advantage of US generosity to become “forever” students, perpetually
enrolled in higher education courses to remain in the country.

“For too long, past Administrations have allowed foreign
students and other visa holders to remain in the U.S. virtually indefinitely,
posing safety risks, costing untold amount of taxpayer dollars, and
disadvantaging U.S. citizens,” a DHS spokesperson said.

“This new proposed rule would end that abuse once and for
all by limiting the amount of time certain visa holders are allowed to remain
in the U.S., easing the burden on the federal government to properly oversee
foreign students and their history.”

Foreign journalists would also be limited to an initial stay
of up to 240 days. However, they may seek an extension of another 240 days, but
no longer than the length of their assignment.

Before the proposed rule, foreign journalists on I visas did
not have a fixed maximum duration.

Instead, their stay was effectively tied to the duration of
their assignments or employment, allowing them to remain in the US as long as
they continued the qualifying activity without a set time cap.

“This would allow DHS to conduct proper oversight… by making
access to necessary information more accessible and reducing the number of
individuals here on visas,” the statement said.

First introduced under Trump in 2020, but later withdrawn by
the Biden administration in 2021, the rule marks the latest push by the US to
curb immigration.