The US Department of Homeland Security has changed the rules for issuing visas to foreign journalists, students and people arriving on exchange programs, limiting their stay in the country to a fixed period. This is stated in the notice of the department, which was included in the Federal Register (a collection of official documents of the US government).
According to the document, US authorities assume that the change in rules will provide them with "additional protections and greater control" and at the same time "allow more detailed monitoring of whether holders of specified non-immigrant visas maintain their status during their temporary stay in the United States."
Foreign journalists, students, and persons arriving on an exchange program receive Class I, F, and J visas, respectively. Those documents, according to the previous rules, allowed to be in the US territory as long as the purposes and conditions of arrival in the country were observed; for example, while the person continues to work for a foreign media outlet or study at an American university. Until now, such visas for the most part did not have a fixed period of validity.
Under the new rule, foreign journalists will be able to enter the U.S. for work for no more than 240 days, and then extend that if necessary. For Chinese citizens, it is proposed to limit the mentioned period to 90 days. Foreign students and persons arriving on exchange programs will be able to stay in the country for the duration of the study period or exchange program, but not more than four years.
