The US division of homeland safety (DHS) has proposed new rules to remove the present “period of standing” framework for sure nonimmigrant classes and exchange it with mounted admission intervals, ANI reported.The adjustments would apply to tutorial college students (F), change guests (J), and representatives of international media (I), in accordance with a discover of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) revealed by US immigration and customs enforcement (ICE).The DHS stated that the present system – which allows these visa holders to stay within the US indefinitely so long as they adjust to the phrases of their standing – doesn’t present immigration officers with “sufficient predetermined alternatives to instantly confirm that aliens are participating solely in authorised actions.”If carried out, the proposed rule would require these nonimmigrants to use for an extension of keep (EOS) with DHS in the event that they want to stay within the US past their authorised admission date.The proposed adjustments comply with rising considerations about visa oversight and nationwide safety, with DHS citing a excessive quantity of admissions: over 1.6 million F-1 college students, greater than 500,000 J visa holders, and over 32,000 I visa holders in 2023 alone.
Key proposed adjustments embody:
- A most four-year keep restrict for F and J visa holders
- A decreased post-study grace interval for F-1 college students, from 60 days to 30
- Restrictions on graduate-level F-1 college students switching packages mid-course
- A 240-day admission cap for I visa holders, with exceptions for sure circumstances involving China
Based on the NPRM, “higher oversight would deter fraud and abuse and strengthen the integrity of those nonimmigrant classifications.”The DHS stated these adjustments would align these visa classes with different nonimmigrant classifications that already function beneath mounted admission intervals and permit officers to “periodically and instantly assess whether or not nonimmigrants are complying with the situations of their classifications and US immigration legal guidelines.”