What may be considered as another cause of concern for aspiring students looking to study overseas in the USA is the Trump administration’s recent proposal to limit the duration of student visas. Till date, there is no restriction on the duration of stay for international students. They are allowed to say as long as they are engaged with studies, which is referred to as admission for ‘duration of status’. However, with the proposed changes, the admission time will be fixed to four years and in some cases, up to two years only.
There is a provision to extend the visa duration, however the process is being frowned upon by the immigration experts. They consider the approach to be narrow and the process to be cumbersome and that time shall reveal the outcome of this move. In order to take part in the optional practical training (OPT), the students will have to apply for an extension.
The F or J visa holders will be able to stay in the US for a limited period for four years. The authorities can decide it up to two year in certain cases – the home country comes under the terrorist list or the rate of extended stay from a country in more than 10%. Though India does not fall in either of the categories, it is still a hurdle for Indian students wanting to go to the USA for their higher studies.
Reasons why Indian students may be affected due to this move is because they cannot take an extra semester during their Bachelors, which quite often, else they will have to apply for the extension. Further, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has limited the two-year stay for language training programs and where the educational institution is not an E-verify enrolment program participant or is not accredited. In these scenarios, extension is not only costly, but an unnecessary process that would create uncertainty for the future.
In its support, DHS claims that most of the 80% of the total international students take part in Bachelor’s and Master’s degree, which conveniently gets over in a time period of less than four years, without having to seek any extension.
The best move for international students at this point is to choose another top study destination, like UK, Canada or Australia. These countries have a flexible and accommodative nature of policies for international students. Recent developments from UK regarding point-based study visas and multiple relaxations for international students offered by Canada during the pandemic are some ideal stances that solidifies the fact that these countries are the best choices as a study destination abroad.
If you have plans for studies abroad, ask for an expert’s advice to lead you the right way. Contact StudyAbroadExpert at +91 8595338595 or drop us a mail with your concern at web@studyabroadexpert.com.