• Proposed regulation caps student, exchange visas at four years max.
• Media visas may shrink to 240 days or 90 days for Chinese nationals.
• About 1.6 million foreign students are currently in the US on F visas.

The Trump administration aims to tighten the duration of visas for students, cultural exchange visitors and members of the media, according to a proposed government regulation issued on Wednesday, part of a broader crackdown on legal immigration.

President Donald Trump, a Republican, kicked off a wide-ranging immigration crackdown after taking office in January. 

The latest move would create new hurdles for international students, exchange workers and foreign journalists who would have to apply to extend their stay in the US rather than maintain a more flexible legal status.

The proposed regulation would create a fixed time period for F visas for international students, J visas that allow visitors on cultural exchange programs to work in the US, and I visas for members of the media. 

Those visas are currently available for the duration of the program or US-based employment.

There were about 1.6 million international students on F visas in the US in 2024, according to US government data. 

The US granted visas to about 355,000 exchange visitors and 13,000 members of the media in fiscal year 2024, which began on October 1, 2023.

The student and exchange visa periods would be no longer than four years, the proposed regulation said. The visa for journalists – which currently can last years – would be up to 240 days or, in the case of Chinese nationals, 90 days. The visa holders could apply for extensions, the proposal said.

The Trump administration said in the proposed regulation that the change was needed to better “monitor and oversee” the visa holders while they were in the United States.

The public will have 30 days to comment on the measure, which mirrors a proposal put forward in 2020 at the end of Trump’s first term in office.

NAFSA, a non-profit organisation representing international educators at more than 4,300 institutions worldwide, opposed the 2020 proposal and called on the Trump administration to scrap it. 

The Democratic administration of then-President Joe Biden withdrew it in 2021.

The Trump administration has increased scrutiny of legal immigration, revoking student visas and green cards of university students over their ideological views and stripping legal status from hundreds of thousands of migrants.

In an August 22 memo, US Citizenship and Immigration Services said it would resume long-dormant visits to citizenship applicants’ neighbourhoods to check what it termed residency, moral character and commitment to American ideals.

Meghan Markle is branded confused for trying to hold onto her Royal status.

The Duchess of Sussex, who is currently toy enjoying the success of her lifestyle show titled ‘With Love, Meghan,’ is accused of using her Royal ties to gain fame.

Royal author Ingrid Seward tells The Sun: “What she’s trying to do, I feel, is divorce herself from who she is for this particular show, and yet at the same time, she’s using who she is, because otherwise no one would be remotely interested in watching it, and Netflix wouldn’t have made it. She’s trying to have it both ways… and she can’t.”

This comes as Meghan admitted the importance of her presence on social media.

Meghan told Bloomberg Originals: “And I’m really intentional in using it as a platform to share joy and to have fun as well. So I get to play and explore – I play in public.”

“I waffle with some of my choices before I make them,” Meghan continued. “I’m generally very decisive, but social media is a great barometer for me, because putting out a video of myself, nine months pregnant, was a really big choice.

There is much buzz about the HBO reboot of Harry Potter, and Chris Columbus, who directed the first two films in the fantasy franchise, has some positive words to share.

Appearing on The Rest Entertainment podcast, he weighed in on the photos from the series, which are going viral on the internet, showing Harry (Dominic McLaughlin) and Hagrid (Nick Frost) shooting what appears to be a scene of going to Diagon Alley to shop for the school’s supplies.

“I looked online and there are photographs of Nick Frost as Hagrid with the new Harry Potter,” the director said, hinting at a mixed response.

He further explained his thoughts, “And he’s wearing the exact same costume that we designed for Hagrid. Part of me was like: ‘What’s the point?’ I thought everything [on the HBO show] the costumes and everything was going to be different. It’s more of the same.”

But he clarified he did not see the supposed reuse of his work as a ‘problem’, rather “It’s very flattering for me, because I’m like: That’s exactly the Hagrid costume that we designed.”

“So part of it is really exciting. I’m excited to see what they’re going to do with it. Part of it is sort of déjà vu all over again,” the director added.

To leave no doubt, Chris said he had no “jealousy” about the reboot. “I’m so beyond it. I did it. I’ve done that, it’s time to move on. I’ve always had issues with the idea of franchise.”

“When we did Gremlins and Goonies — that’s why I didn’t do the second Gremlins film. My attitude then is I’ve done it and it’s time to move on. Same with Potter,” he noted.

“I feel like I’ve done it … I’m really proud of those films — the first three that I was involved with, and I’m moving on,” Chris concluded.

In the meantime, filming for the Harry Potter series is ongoing, with no specific release date yet announced; the show is expected to be released in 2027.