US limits stays of students, journalists

Green card applicants face renewed benefits test

WASHINGTON:

President Donald Trump's administration moved on Thursday to impose stricter limits on how long foreign students and journalists can stay in the United States, the latest bid to tighten legal immigration in the country.

Under a change that could be implemented as soon as September, foreigners on student visas would not be allowed to stay for more than four years in the United States.

Foreign journalists would be limited to stays of just 240 days, or around eight months, although they could apply to extend by additional 240-day periods, except for Chinese journalists who would get just 90 days.

Green cards

The US government is reviving a rule that could deny permanent residency to immigrants who use public benefits such as food stamps and Medicaid, the Department of Homeland Security said on Thursday.

The administration of President Donald Trump, determined to crack down on what it calls illegal immigration, says people seeking green cards should not be "public charges" who are primarily dependent on government subsistence.

The change - announced in an official post by the DHS - will take effect on September 18 this year.

The original rule, adopted in 2019 during Trump's first term in power, significantly expanded the definition of a public charge to include anyone who received a government benefit for more than 12 months in any three-year period.

This broad approach was abandoned in 2022 during the Biden administration, which narrowed the grounds for potentially denying a green card to immigrants.

In a post on X, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said the revived rule underlined the intent "that aliens in the United States be self-reliant and not dependent on taxpayer-funded government benefits."

The original rule was heavily criticized by immigrant advocates who said it unfairly targeted poor people and would bar many people from obtaining permanent residency.