Federal Judge Stops DHS Four-Year Cap on Student, Exchange, and Journalist Visas

A federal judge in Boston halted a Department of Homeland Security rule that would have limited how long people on F (academic students), J (exchange visitors) and I (foreign journalists) visas can remain in the United States. The preliminary injunction, issued by U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV on September 14, postponed the rule's effective date under Section 705 of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The injunction applies nationwide.

What the DHS rule would have changed

• F and J visa holders would be admitted for four years or the program end date, whichever came first.
• I visa holders would be admitted for 240 days.
• Students seeking more time would need to file Form I-539 for an extension, decided at the discretion of a USCIS officer with no internal appeal available.

Judge Saylor did not evaluate whether the policy was wise. He evaluated whether DHS followed the APA's procedural and reasoned-decision requirements. In a 48-page opinion the court found multiple failures by the agency:

• National security rationale: DHS relied largely on five anecdotes involving 11 individuals out of decades and tens of millions of admissions. The judge wrote that the security argument "borders on the absurd," noting that a hostile actor could still operate inside a four-year window or enter on other visas.
• Fraud rationale: DHS flagged 77,000 F-1 students who spent more than 10 years in student status since 2003, less than 5% of the total, without explaining why long doctoral programs were suspicious.
• Journalists: The court found no reasoned national security or fraud evidence to justify capping I visas at 240 days.
• Cost and comment responses: DHS acknowledged first-year compliance costs near $268 million and significant administrative burdens for schools but treated enrollment harms as effectively zero. The court also faulted DHS for dismissing roughly 22,000 public comments submitted during an unusually short 32-day comment window.

Context and effects already observed

Practical implications for institutions and students