Washington, July 18:
The US has tightened visa rules for foreign students, exchange visitors and journalists, ending a decades-old policy that allowed them to remain in the country indefinitely without government oversight, a move likely to affect a large number of Indians.
The new regulations establish a fixed period of admission for nonimmigrant visa holders in F, J, and I classifications, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement on Thursday.
The F category visas are for students, the J category for exchange visitors, and the I category is for journalists.
The rule also shortens the amount of time F visa holders have to depart or transfer from school and change status after their graduation from 60 to 30 days.
Presently, student visas are permitted to last for the duration of their studies, in addition to a period of up to three years after graduation through optional practical training (OPT).
The duration of I visas, for members of the media, will be capped at 240 days by the new rule, and 90 days for Chinese nationals. Under current rules, there is no specific time period for journalists’ visas and it can last years.
Nonimmigrant students (F visas) and exchange visitors (J visas) will be admitted for the length of their specific programme, but not longer than four years, the DHS said in a statement.