A U.S. federal judge on Monday blocked 
Donald Trump's administration from enforcing a new rule restricting how long foreign students, journalists and other nonimmigrants can stay in the United States without a visa extension. U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor in Boston issued the ruling a day before the administration was set to start implementing the rule, Yonhap reported, citing Reuters. The rule was expected to affect more than 13,000 South Koreans currently in the U.S. under visa programs subject to it.
What would the rule have done? It would have capped the duration of stay for nonimmigrant students on F visas and exchange visitors on J visas at four years, Yonhap reported. It also would have limited the initial period of stay for most foreign journalists to 240 days, after which they would have had to apply for an extension of up to 240 days.
Why did the administration introduce it? The Department of Homeland Security unveiled the rule in July to address what it called "visa abuse" by foreign students, exchange visitors and media representatives, the Korea Times reported. It came as the Trump administration doubled down on its immigration crackdown.
How many South Koreans hold these visas? As of 2025, 11,861 South Korean students were in the U.S. on F-1 visas, while 1,347 family members were accompanying them on F-2 visas, according to South Korean Embassy figures cited by Yonhap. Another 7,985 South Koreans were in the country on J-1 exchange visitor visas, accompanied by 3,180 family members. The number of South Korean I visa holders stood at 349.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
