When P.D. ‘27, a Vietnamese international student, opened his inbox he expected to find the usual stream of school updates. Instead, he found an email from Robert Fish, the former dean of global studies, about how the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed to shorten student visas to a maximum of four years with a 30-day grace period after graduation. This new length is significantly shorter than the original, which had allowed students to stay for as long as their academic program lasts and a grace period of 60 days. This new proposa l has drawn many reactions from international students learning in the United States. Many fear that this will disrupt their education after high school, career paths and whether they are welcome in the U.S.

P.D. mentioned how anxious he was after initially hearing about this: “I was pretty nervous, I didn’t know what to do, how to react, like it was pretty crazy.” 

While P.D said that the policy has not affected him yet, he is worried that if the proposal is approved, continuing his education in the U.S. may not be possible. “If it continues to get worse, I might think of learning in Vietnam,” he said. Do also mentioned how this rule would make him feel “discriminated [against] and very disrespected.” 

Ukrainian international student Y.S. ‘26 first heard of the proposal from The New York Times. He criticized the DHS decision  because of the impact on students’ college educations and potential career paths. “It just removes experience opportunities from students and job opportunities for students,” he said. 

Y. S.  also mentioned that renewing visas frequently could be very costly and could possibly discourage international students from pursuing master’s degrees or doctorate in the States. He also argued that the U.S.’s greatest value was “Being that we take all the smart people, we provide them like we take all the artistic smart people, so we can make innovations in America, we can bring technology. And I think by doing such, like proposing such bills in the government, they send those people away.”

Chinese international student R.Y. ‘28 believes that education should not be used as a way for countries to try and compete against each other. 

R.Y. also believes that by shortening student visa lengths, many opportunities will be blocked, whether that be with education or jobs. For R.Y., keeping the current student visa rules is essential for the U.S. as it will remain a place where international students can build their education and careers.