For half a century, the United States extended an implicit promise to foreign students and journalists: stay as long as your purpose holds. This week, the Department of Homeland Security withdrew that promise, capping student and exchange visas at four years and journalist visas at 240 days — a structural shift that reframes the relationship between American institutions and the world's learners. The change arrives as nearly 400,000 Indian students alone study on American campuses, making the human weight of this policy revision difficult to overstate. What was once a system built on instituti
US caps student visas at 4 years, ending indefinite stay policy
Hundreds of thousands of international students, particularly from India, face disrupted academic timelines and increased administrative burdens to continue studies or remain in the US.