A US federal judge on Monday postponed implementation of a Trump administration policy that would impose stricter limits on how long foreign students and journalists can study or work in the United States.
He said the current system has permitted tens of millions of foreign students to come to the United States, resulting in “groundbreaking research in science, medicine, and technology, substantial economic growth, and a host of other benefits. “Rather than attempt to improve that system, DHS elected to replace it with a new program that will substantially restrict the overall number of foreign students, researchers, professors, and journalists,” he said. The judge said that under the new rules, DHS denials of visa extensions would be “entirely discretionary and unappealable. Foreign journalists applying for visa extensions would also have “no recourse and no appeal” in the event they are turned down, Saylor said.
The visa restrictions are part of a broader immigration crackdown by President Donald Trump spanning aggressive enforcement operations in major cities as well as new restrictions on legal pathways to citizenship. President Donald Trump’s administration from implementing a new rule that would limit how long foreign students and journalists can remain in the U.S. without applying for extensions. Judge blocks Trump limits on duration of visas for foreign students, journalists A federal judge on Monday (September 14, 2026) blocked U.S.
“The possibilities for abuse are rampant — in particular, the obvious likelihood that the visas of foreign journalists who are critical of the government (or, more particularly, DHS officials) will not be renewed,” he said. When it proposed the rule, DHS cited national security grounds, an argument the judge said “borders on the absurd” and was “based almost entirely on a small handful of anecdotes. Earlier reporting noted: Judge Saylor said DHS adopted the policy based on “exceptionally weak” rationales, citing national security and the need to prevent fraud in the visa program, without adhering to its obligations under the Administrative Procedure Act to engage with concerns about it or consider less burdensome alternatives.
Earlier reporting noted: U.S.
