A coalition of labor unions and higher education groups in the United States (US) has sued the Trump administration to stop new immigration rules that limit how long foreign journalists and students can stay in the US.
The lawsuit targets the Department of Homeland Security policy that replaces open-ended visas with strict time limits, ending a long-standing system that allowed visa holders to remain in the country for as long as their job assignments or studies lasted.
Under the new rules step to take effect from September 15, foreign journalists will face limits, even tighter than foreign students. For instance, standard stays will be capped at 240 days, while journalists holding Chinese passports will be limited to 90 days.
Also, international students and exchange visitors will be restricted to a maximum stay of four years before they must apply for an extension.
‘They 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,’ the groups said in the lawsuit.
‘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.’
The groups bringing the lawsuit warn that these rigid deadlines will discourage foreign students from attending American universities, threatening billions of dollars in tuition revenue that supports higher education institutions nationwide.
Jon Schleuss, president of the NewsGuild-CWA, called the policy a direct threat to press freedom, arguing that shorter visas are designed to disrupt the work of international journalists covering the US.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security dismissed the lawsuit as political, arguing that fixed visa limits are necessary to prevent fraud, enforce compliance, and reduce the overall number of foreign visa holders in the country.