In another immigration-related legal setback for the Trump administration, a US court has blocked the government’s attempt to tighten visa requirements on how long foreign students, exchange visitors and foreign journalists can study or work in America.
In addition, foreign students will have shorter time windows to change status or depart the US after finishing their degree programs. In a scathing judgment, District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV took issue with the Department of Homeland Security’s conduct in providing a rationale for the new visa rules. The presiding judge also found that the Department of Homeland Security had not engaged substantially with concerns raised by educators, including the potentially devastating impact on the ability of US universities to attract top foreign students. “The damage to the higher education system and to the economy of the United States is likely to be catastrophic.
Students who wish to stay on beyond the mandated 4 years would have to file paperwork with US Citizenship and Immigration Services. The government has acknowledged that compliance costs alone will likely total more than $250 million in the first year. But the real expected costs go far beyond the figure,” he noted in his 48-page judgment. The ruling also brings relief to over 360,000 Indian students in the United States as well as to prospective students looking to study at American universities. However, the Trump administration’s restrictive immigration policies – including a potential $100,000 fee for foreign students who wish to work in America through the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program after graduation – may dampen Indian student interest in America. International student applications from India to US universities for undergraduate courses dropped 15% in the 2025-26 application cycle, one of the most significant country-specific drops recorded in a report by non-profit organisation Common App.
Foreign students are presently allowed to remain in the United States legally so long as they maintain their student status, known as “duration of status”. Judge Saylor said that the US government had mainly used anecdotal examples to explain why the more restrictive rules were necessary to preserve national security and prevent visa abuse. Harvard University’s International Office told foreign students in an advisory that the ruling preserved their present visa status without providing permanent relief, as the US government could appeal the ruling.
The Trump administration’s new rules would have terminated the earlier policy and favoured a strict four-year student visa.
