US unions sue over new visa rule for foreign students, journalists

A coalition of U.S. unions and advocacy groups has launched a legal challenge against the federal government, aiming to overturn a new regulation that significantly shortens the permitted stay for foreign students and journalists. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, argues that the changes will have "catastrophic" consequences for educational institutions, international students, and visiting scholars.

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catastrophic

The Department of Homeland Security's new rule, slated to begin September 15, imposes fixed time limits on F visas for international students and J visas for cultural exchange participants, capping them at four years. Similarly, visas for members of the media, which previously allowed for longer stays, will now be limited to 240 days, with a shorter 90-day period for Chinese nationals.

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They will discourage foreign students and other nonimmigrants from coming to the United States, repelled by the intolerable prospect of losing lawful immigration status partway through their studies.

Plaintiffs contend that these restrictions will deter international talent from coming to the United States, fearing the "intolerable prospect of losing lawful immigration status partway through their studies." They warn of lost opportunities for students, diminished talent pools for universities, and billions of dollars in economic contributions from international education, a major U.S. export.

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Students will lose opportunities, schools will lose talent, and the public will lose billions of dollars of economic contributions supported by one of the United States’ top exports: education.

In response, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson dismissed the lawsuit as "performative." The spokesperson asserted that the rule aims to combat alleged "rampant fraud" and ensure that only those genuinely intending to study in the U.S. receive the privilege, though no specific evidence of widespread fraud was provided. Union leaders, however, decried the rule as an "attack on journalists" and a move that turns a welcoming environment into a hostile one, harming both Americans and American enterprise by using international students as "pawns."

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performative