To tighten duration of visas for students, exchange visitors and journalists
After the first term of Donald Trump, many experts thought now they knew him or his undiplomatic temperament and what it could do. After he has been in office for just over eight months, all that expertise has gone down the gurgler. First tariffs and now weaponizing US visas, Donald Trump has consigned the book of international diplomacy to the White House’s head honchos for a complete make over. Just a thought of what could be in store for the rest of his term, sends shudders down the spine of those who made their living as experts on international politics and diplomacy.
When Donald Trup paraded his tariffs flow charts on April 2 this year, many took that not so seriously as tariffs are imposed on goods being imported into a country and thus, immediately hurt its local population. To their utmost disbelief, Trump in fact, has conducted his rule weaponizing tariffs, using them as tools to negotiate international peace.
Who would have thought?
And spare a thought for the architects of UN Charter and International agencies like the United Nations.
And now Donald Trump has turned his attention to temporary population in the US. A new, proposed government regulation issued by the Trump Administration tightens the duration of visas of students, cultural exchange visitors and members of the media. That affects all temporary visa holders in the US by limiting the time they are allowed to spend in America. Given the size of internationalized US education, the numbers are big and thus the regulation has potential for a big impact on temporary population.
That cohort of the US society, being temporarily in the US but belonging to other countries, of which India is a major stakeholder, can cause grief both in the US and in their home countries. The proposed regulation would create a fixed time period for international students (for F visa holders), visitors on cultural exchange programs to work in the US (J visa holders), and members of the media (I visa holders). Those visas are currently available for the duration of the program, student enrolment or US-based employment.
The biggest cohort among these is international students, F visa holders – approximately 1.6 million in 2024. The number of Indian international students in 2024 was 420,000 or 27% which had arisen by 11% over the 2023 numbers. While Trump has tried various tools of Trumpian diplomacy with India and failed, bothering some half a million Indians can potential carry a winner tool in the hands of the mighty Trump, who by the end of his term will have changed the song book for his successors.
Absolutely like the tariffs, Donald Trum is least bothered of any consequences back home in the US, but eyes home countries to make maneuvers the Trump administration wants them to.
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.
Weaponizing visa – targeting ideological opposition
Some experts claim the Trump administration has, in the name of ‘scrutiny’ of immigration process, revoked student visas and green cards of university students over their ideological views and hundreds of thousands of migrants have been stripped off their legal American status.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services in a memo issued in August said it would resume long-dormant visits to citizenship applicants’ neighborhoods to check what it termed residency, moral character and commitment to American ideals.
H-1B visa holders – Indians biggest stakeholders targeted
The Trump administration has also gone after H-1B visa holder class, another temporary population segment of which 72% are from India. Such is their disdain for H-1B visa holders that the United States Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently called it a “scam”.
“The current H-1B visa system is a scam that lets foreign workers fill American job opportunities,” he told Fox News.
“Hiring American workers should be the priority of all great American businesses. Now is the time to hire American.”
Since assuming office on 20 January 2025, President Trump has kicked off a wide-ranging immigration crackdown. In less than eight months, the Trump Administration has revoked more than 6,000 international student visas because of violations of US law and overstays.