A federal judge in Massachusetts has blocked a Trump administration immigration rule that would have limited how long foreign students and journalists could stay in the United States without seeking an extension.
U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV issued the order Monday in a lawsuit brought by eight groups, including the Association of International Educators, and directed the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement not to enforce the rule while the case continues. The ruling came one day before the policy was set to take effect.
The rule would have ended a more than 40-year “duration of status” system. Under the current system, F-visa international students and J-visa exchange visitors can remain in the U.S. as long as they are maintaining their studies or training, without a fixed time limit. The new policy would have capped their stay at four years and required separate approval to remain longer. It also would have limited I-visa foreign journalists to 240 days.
Saylor said the government failed to show a reasonable link between its stated goals of national security and stopping visa fraud and the actual rule. He also said the administration did not identify any specific security threat posed by foreign journalists and did not adequately consider concerns that reporters could face rejected extensions, self-censorship, or retaliation from foreign governments. The injunction applies nationwide while the lawsuit moves forward.
