The new State Department proposal would expand grounds for ending exchange programs and tighten oversight of sponsors.
The State Department on Thursday proposed changes that would expand and clarify the grounds for ceasing participation in the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program, while also updating how sponsors manage extensions and reinstatements of status.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, published in the Federal Register on July 30, focuses on regulations governing nonimmigrants who come to the United States for educational and cultural exchange programs.
These visitors hold J-1 visas, also called exchange visitor visas, while their spouses and children typically hold J-2 visas. The department monitors them through the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a database overseen by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The J-1 visa is a temporary nonimmigrant visa that allows foreign nationals to come to the United States to participate in approved educational, cultural, or professional exchange programs. Sponsor programs include au pairs, college students, and physicians undergoing graduate medical training.
Current rules stipulate that sponsors must terminate a visitor’s program if the person stops pursuing the authorized activities, cannot continue, breaks program or sponsor rules, or willfully drops required insurance. Unauthorized employment can also lead to termination.
The proposed rule attempts to make those conditions clearer. It would authorize the department to terminate a visitor’s program. It would also change the sections on program extensions and reinstatement to valid status. Outdated requirements would also be stricken from the regulation.
Definitions would cover “unauthorized employment” and “valid program status,” and a separate extension provision that has applied specifically to au pairs would be rescinded.
Visitors whose programs are ended must leave the United States without the usual 30-day grace period that follows normal program completion. Their SEVIS records are changed to terminated status, and dependents usually follow the principal’s status.
In mid-July, the government acted to replace open-ended “duration of status” admissions for J-1 and nonimmigrant student F-1 holders with fixed periods of stay, generally no longer than four years not including extensions, which will be effective in mid-September.
That change, already finalized by the Department of Homeland Security, requires more formal extension filings with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for those who need additional time.
“For nearly half a century, the outdated ‘duration of status’ system has compromised national security and created an environment ripe for immigration fraud,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on July 16. “For decades, foreign students have been admitted into the U.S. indefinitely, allowing thousands to abuse our immigration system by perpetually enrolling in courses to avoid having to leave the U.S.”
These reforms will apply to F, J, and I visa holders. The Trump administration has said the visas have been abused by foreign “forever students” who stayed in the United States by continuously enrolling in courses.
Under the new rule, nonimmigrant students on F-1 visas and exchange visitors on J-1 visas will be permitted in the United States only during their specific program. They will not be allowed to exceed four years.
