America has made major changes in the visa rules for foreign students, exchange visitors and journalists. The US Department of Homeland Security has ended the system that had been in place for decades, under which students could stay in America without any fixed time limit for the duration of their course. After the implementation of the new rules, the period of stay for F, J and I visa holders has been fixed. This decision can have the biggest impact on Indian students, because Indians have the highest share among international students studying in America.

The US government says that the purpose of this change is to strengthen the immigration system, prevent visa abuse and improve national security. At the same time, education experts believe that this may increase additional procedures and challenges for foreign scholars doing long-term courses.

What has changed in the new visa rules?

Under the new rules, F student, J exchange visitor and I journalist visa holders will no longer be allowed to stay for an indefinite period. F and J holders will be allowed to stay in the US for the duration of their course, but for a maximum of 4 years. Apart from this, the grace period of 60 days for leaving America after completing studies, taking transfer to another institute or changing visa status has also been reduced to 30 days. The maximum duration of visa for journalists has been fixed at 240 days, while for Chinese citizens this limit will be 90 days.

What was the arrangement in the old rules?

Till now the duration of status rule was applicable on foreign students. Under this, students could stay in America as long as they were studying regularly in a recognized institution and were following the conditions of the visa. There was no end date for staying in this system. Due to this, students could change courses if needed, transfer universities, take admission in higher education and also complete programs like Optional Practical Training and STEM OPT.

Now what needs to be done to continue studies further?

If a student’s course is for more than 4 years, he or she will have to formally apply for Extension of Status to reside in the US from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. This process will include biometric verification, background check and other security checks. Whereas earlier the university had a big role in extending the visa period, now the final decision will be taken directly by the US federal agencies.

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What will be the impact on Indian students?

America is one of the most preferred higher education destination for Indian students. According to the Open Doors report, more than 3.63 lakh Indians were studying in America’s colleges and universities in the academic year 2024-25, which is about 31 percent of the total international students there. Among these, a large number of students are taking admission in PhD research based Masters and longer academic programmes. After the implementation of the new rules, such students will have to take extra government approval to continue their studies. This may prolong the application process and increase administrative formalities.

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The White House on Saturday released a ‘factories’ and supported President Donald Trump’s new and controversial decision. Under this, a huge fee of US $ 1 lakh (about 88 lakh rupees) will be charged on the new H-1B visa petitions. The administration says that the move aims to save American employees from replacement from foreigners and secure American employment.

According to the factory, the share of employees working in the IT sector on H-1B visa was 32% in 2003, which has increased to more than 65% in recent years. At the same time, unemployment rate among American students studying computer science and computer engineering has reached 6.1% and 7.5%, which is double the graduates of other subjects. Between 2000 and 2019, the number of foreign Stem (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) was doubled, while the total stem employment increased by just 44.5%.

This year a large scale trimmed

The White House also mentioned some companies, which trimmed thousands of American employees, while the recruitment of H-1B employees increased. A company was approved 5,189 H-1B visas in 2025, but this year it fired 16,000 American employees. The second company received 1,698 H-1B approval, but removed 2,400 US employees in July. A third company has trimmed 27,000 US employees since 2022, while 25,075 H-1B visas have been approved.

The White House said that President Trump has been given a mandate to the American public to give priority to American workers and they are constantly working on it. According to him, all the new jobs have been received to American -born employees since Trump took over, while most of the employment went to foreign employees during Biden.

According to the latest data, 72% of Indians were found in around 4 lakh H-1B visas issued between October 2022 and September 2023. Following this order of Trump, anxiety and nervousness spread among Indians living in America. Many people canceled the plan to go to India at the last moment, while many people present in India started trying to return to America.

Fees will be applicable only to new petitions

However, the administration later made it clear that this new fee of $ 1 million will be applicable only to new applications. Older visa holders will not have to pay it and those who are already out of America will not have to pay any additional fee on re -entry. This rule will be applicable from September 21 and the petitions filed before it will not be affected by it.

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According to an order issued by US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time), H-1B visa holders will be prevented from entering the US from Sunday (21 September), until his employer has paid an annual fee of US $ 1 lakh (about Rs 88 lakh) for each employee.

Under this order, this visa entry restriction and fee rule will apply to both new and existing H-1B visa holders. For the new H-1-1B visa or H-1B expansion, payment of $ 1 lakh will be required and after that it will be mandatory to pay this fee every year.

The period of ban has been told that this rule will remain in force for 12 months, but it can be extended on the recommendation of federal immigration agencies. If it is extended, this ban will continue for FY 2027 H-1B cap petition approved foreign employees.

Both companies and employees may have heavy

This step may have a huge impact to both companies and employees. The Trump administration has instructed companies to pay 1 million dollars of annual fee for every H-1B employee. This increased fee has been applied to prevent the systematic misuse of the H-1B program. Earlier this administrative fee was only $ 1,500. This new order can create instability in Big Tech companies and employees are being advised to stay in America or return early.

Its effect on Indian employees can be deeper. According to the USCIS data, around 4 lakh H-1B visas issued between October 2022 and September 2023 are 72% Indians. New York-based Immigration Advocate Cyrus Mehta has warned that many H-1B holders present in India will not be able to reach America till the time limit (September 21 midnight), as it is not possible to reach on time from direct flight. He said that H-1B holders may be trapped out of America on business or holiday if they do not reach America in time.

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