A US federal judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration policy that would impose stricter limits on how long foreign students and journalists can remain in the United States.
District Judge Dennis Saylor issued a preliminary injunction on Monday, a day before new Department of Homeland Security visa rules were scheduled to take effect.
Under the proposed rules, foreign students would be admitted for a maximum of four years and would need to apply for extensions thereafter. Under the existing system, international students can remain in the country for the duration of their academic programmes.
Foreign journalists would have been limited to 240-day stays, with the option to apply for extensions of similar duration, compared with the current five-year limit. Chinese journalists would have been restricted to 90-day stays, with 90-day extensions.
A coalition of unions representing universities, teachers and journalists challenged the restrictions in court.
Saylor halted implementation of the rules without ruling on the merits of the case and scheduled a further hearing for October 2.
In a memorandum accompanying the injunction, however, Saylor expressed doubts about the restrictions, citing the benefits international students and journalists have brought to the United States.
He said the existing system had allowed tens of millions of foreign students to study in the country, contributing to advances in science, medicine and technology as well as economic growth.
Saylor said the new system would substantially reduce opportunities for foreign students, researchers, professors and journalists and give DHS broad discretion to deny visa extensions.
He also warned that decisions on extensions would be largely unreviewable, raising concerns about potential abuse.
Regarding foreign journalists, Saylor said there would be no meaningful avenue of appeal if an extension was denied, warning that journalists critical of the government or DHS officials could be particularly vulnerable.
DHS had cited national security concerns when proposing the restrictions, but Saylor said the justification relied largely on a small number of incidents.
The visa policy is part of President Donald Trump’s broader immigration crackdown, which includes increased enforcement operations and restrictions on legal immigration pathways.
The United States hosted more than 1.1 million international students during the 2023-24 academic year, according to official data, making it the world’s leading destination for international students.
