The United States Government has proposed a policy to limit the duration of foreign students, including Nigerians that apply for the visa.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security announced the proposal to add changes to visas for students, exchange visitors and foreign media.
“This effort would create a fixed time period of admission for certain aliens, consistent with most other temporary visa classifications, while still allowing these aliens an opportunity to legally extend their stay or re-apply for admission where appropriate,” the statement partly read.
“Amending the relevant regulations is critical in improving program oversight mechanisms; preventing foreign adversaries from exploiting the country’s education environment; and properly enforcing and strengthening U.S. immigration laws.”
If the new rule is approved, it could translate to affected students not getting four-year visas for four-year courses in the U.S.
International students could apply to extend their visas beyond the limits, but the rule would severely tighten the requirements for an extension, the D.H.S said.
According to the D.H.S, the rule would help prevent visa fraud, protect national security and discourage students from overstaying.
The countries targeted in the new policy are those on the U.S. “state sponsor of terrorism list” and ”students from 43 countries that visitors have overstay rate of more than 10 per cent”.
Countries that will be affected by this new DHS proposed law include those listed as state sponsors of terrorism, and countries whose citizens have overstayed their visas.
Nigeria is not on the list of state sponsors of terrorism but is part of countries with high visa overstay rates.
