In recent months, official policy changes regarding legal immigration have made the regulations for visitors to the United States considerably stricter. On August 28, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced their proposal to change the amount of time that J, F, and I-visa holders will be permitted to stay in the U.S. See the Federal Register here for the full text of the proposal.
Currently, “duration of stay” (or “D/S”) policies allowed for these visa holders to reside in the U.S. as long as they maintained their student status. Under the new regulations, F-1 and J-1 visa holders would only be permitted to stay in the U.S. for four years or the length of a program of study (whichever is shorter), with limited options to apply for extensions. I-visa holders would be permitted to stay for a maximum period of 240 days — except for nonimmigrants traveling on a passport issued by the People’s Republic of China (with the exception of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport holders and Macau Special Administrative Region passport holders), who would be admitted for a maximum period of 90 days.
The grace period for F-1 visa holders to leave the country without legal repercussions following the end of their studies/training/etc. would be reduced from 60 days to 30 days. The proposal would also place tighter restrictions on the ability of students to change programs, majors, and educational levels while studying in the U.S. See here for more information on this proposal.
The public comment period for feedback on this proposal will extend through September 29, 2025. At the time of this writing, the final content of these policies, the date of their implementation, and any changes that may be made are not known.
On September 6, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) updated the requirements for all applicants for U.S. nonimmigrant visas (including J, F, I, and R visas): applicants will be required to schedule their visa interview appointments at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in their country of nationality or residence. Nationals of countries where the U.S. government is not conducting routine nonimmigrant visa operations must apply at the designated embassy or consulate, unless their residence is elsewhere: see the DOS website here for the affected countries and their designated interview locations.
R-1 visas are issued to visitors employed in a qualifying religious occupation who will be staying temporarily in the United States to work in this capacity. Currently, R-1 visa holders are permitted to stay in the U.S. for periods of up to 30 months, with up to an additional 30 months available through requested extensions, with a limit of five years total (60 months).
Federal lawmakers have drafted and proposed the Religious Workforce Protection Act, legislation which would, if passed into law, extend R-1 visa status beyond the five-year cap until their permanent resident applications are processed, allow them to change employers (so long as they remain within their religious vocation) without starting the application process over, and make it easier for them to resume service in the U.S. once their initial visa expires.
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