United States: The length of stays for foreign students and journalists will be reduced

The United States will limit the duration of visas for foreign students and journalists. This measure, announced Thursday by the Trump administration, has drawn sharp criticism from press freedom organizations.

The US government formalized a new phase in its immigration policy on Thursday by publishing an administrative document that aims to reduce the permitted length of stay for foreign students and journalists. Barring any congressional blockage, these new rules will take effect 60 days after their expected publication in the federal registry on Friday.

Holders of student visas will no longer be able to stay in the United States for more than four years, while foreign journalists will now be limited to stays of 240 days, renewable for the same period. Chinese journalists will be subject to stricter regulations, with visas capped at 90 days. Until now, students benefited from visas covering the duration of their program, and journalists could obtain authorization for up to five years.

Reporters Without Borders is outraged by this decision.

This reform, proposed last year and subsequently undergoing consultations, will affect journalists accredited to hundreds of foreign media outlets based in the United States. Around one hundred press organizations, including AFP, argued in an open letter that it would "diminish the quantity and quality of coverage" of American news.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) expressed its outrage at the decision, stating that it risks depriving international journalists of the opportunity to cover the news from the United States and makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for international media to operate within the US. The organization added that the endless cycle of visa renewals restricts press freedom and called it a direct violation of freedom of expression and of the press, while urging Congress to intervene.

A new escalation by the Trump administration

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which defends journalists, considers this measure to be "the latest escalation" by the Trump administration, following "a series of deeply disturbing violations of press freedom." It believes this is "the behavior of a democracy in decline, not of a country at the forefront of international press freedom."

To justify this increase, the Department of Homeland Security cites a "significant rise" in the number of students and journalists benefiting from these visas in recent years. According to the Department, this situation "poses a challenge to the Department's ability to monitor and control these nonimmigrants during their stay in the United States." The Department reports having recorded more than 1.8 million entries under student visas in 2024, an 11% increase compared to the previous year.