US judge blocks fixed visa limits as states challenge a broader residency rule

Visa limits halted before taking effect

A federal judge in Boston has blocked the Trump administration from imposing fixed time limits on visas held by foreign students, exchange visitors and journalists. The regulation was due to take effect on September 15. It would have capped F student and J exchange visas at four years and limited many I visas for foreign media workers to 240 days, requiring extensions for longer stays.

US District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV granted an injunction sought by trade unions and higher-education groups. According to Al Jazeera’s Reuters-sourced report, the judge found the administration’s national-security and fraud rationale exceptionally weak and concluded that implementation could severely disrupt universities and the wider economy. The litigation will continue, but the limits cannot take effect under the current order.

The affected population is large. The report estimates that roughly 1.6 million international students hold F visas and around 500,000 people use J exchange visas. Universities, research institutions and employers had warned that replacing duration-of-status admissions with fixed deadlines would create uncertainty, recurring paperwork and risks of losing lawful status during lengthy academic or professional programmes.

A second fight over green cards

Separately, 22 states and the District of Columbia filed suit in Manhattan against a new public-charge regulation, while six cities and counties brought a parallel challenge. The rule would broaden the benefits immigration officers may consider when deciding whether a person seeking permanent residence is likely to depend on government support. It was scheduled to take effect later in the week.

The contested policy would permit officials to weigh non-cash assistance, including food support and Medicaid, and examine some benefits received by applicants’ family members. Under the previous approach, the use of most non-cash programmes could not by itself count against a green-card applicant. The challengers argue that the administration exceeded its statutory authority and created new residency restrictions without Congress.

The administration says stronger screening protects public resources and national security, consistent with its wider tightening of visa and entry rules. A State Department notice from February documents restrictions already applied to nationals of dozens of countries under presidential proclamations. The next developments will be whether the government appeals the Boston injunction and whether the Manhattan court pauses the public-charge rule before implementation.