The Trump administration finalized a rule capping international student visa stays at four years, regardless of program length, with implementation expected mid-September. The change affects popular F and J visa pathways and requires students to seek extensions through the Department of Homeland Security if additional time is needed. The rule also introduces restrictions affecting academic mobility, including limits on transferring schools or changing educational objectives for graduate students on F visas unless an exemption is granted due to “extenuating circumstances.” Student advocates and higher education immigration experts criticized the rule as shifting life-changing decisions from institutions to an overburdened immigration system. Nafsa and Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration leaders described the policy as unnecessary and duplicative, highlighting additional compliance and counseling burdens for colleges coordinating admissions timelines with visa adjudication.