Federal judge blocks Trump-era rule limiting student visa durations

On September 14, U.S. District Judge F Dennis Saylor IV granted a nationwide preliminary injunction, preventing the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement from applying a July 2026 rule that would have limited F-1 student visas, J-1 exchange visas and I visas for foreign media to four years or 240 days. The rule sought to replace the long-standing duration-of-status system with fixed admission periods, forcing students in longer programs, such as PhDs, to seek extensions from USCIS.

A coalition of groups—including NAFSA, the Presidents’Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, the American Federation of Teachers, United Auto Workers Local 2322 and The NewsGuild-CWA—challenged the regulation, claiming it lacked justification. Judge Saylor criticized the administration’s national-security rationale as exceptionally weak and noted procedural deficiencies under the Administrative Procedure Act. As a result, the existing visa framework remains in force nationwide, keeping current flexibility for Indian and other international students and journalists while the case continues. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the decision.