New student visa rule stops endless college, expert says– www.thecollegefix.com

Student visa fraud will be reduced under a new Trump policy limiting how long foreigners can attend college, an expert told The College Fix.

Set to go into effect on Sept. 15, the “duration of status” rule will now set a fixed, four-year limit on student visas or shorter, depending on the normal length of the program. Prior to this change, students could stay here as long as they were enrolled in school.

The program ensures temporary visas remain “just that: temporary, with a fixed end date,” according to Ira Mehlman.

The spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform praised the move in emailed comments to The Fix.

“The new policy makes it clear to everyone up front — the applicant, the university and the government — that the terms of entry are for a specific purpose, for a specific duration, and that when those have been fulfilled the student must depart the country,” he said.

The policy “will also end the practice of endlessly enrolling in classes beyond completion solely for the purpose of extending a student visa.”

Under this rule, the American government, and not “universities which often have a financial interest in having a foreign student remain,” will have the say in case-by-case visa extensions for students, Mehlman said.