The Justification for New Time Limits on Student Visas 'Borders on the Absurd,' a Federal Judge Says |
Immigration
The Justification for New Time Limits on Student Visas 'Borders on the Absurd,' a Federal Judge Says
Although the impact of the DHS rule "is likely to be catastrophic," a George W. Bush appointee writes, the government's rationale is "exceptionally weak."
Jacob Sullum | 9.16.2026 3:00 PM
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(U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusettes/Gerald Mothes/Dreamstime/Midjourney)
A year ago, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed new restrictions on visas for international students and journalists, limiting the former to four years and the latter to 240 days without a discretionary extension. The department portrayed those caps as necessary to combat visa fraud and protect national security. But as thousands of people pointed out during the 32-day public comment period, that rationale did not make much sense, and the downside was obvious: The rule would disrupt press coverage and deter foreign enrollment in U.S. universities, an important source of revenue for those institutions and a major driver of economic growth.
Unfazed by those objections, the DHS finalized its rule in July. Although that might seem like business as usual for a federal bureaucracy, the process that produced the rule was so illogical and heedless that it provoked a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the limits while a lawsuit challenging them is pending. In a scathing decision this week, a federal judge in Massachusetts concluded that the DHS rule qualifies as "arbitrary and capricious" under the Administrative Procedure Act because the department did not offer a plausible justification, consider alternatives, estimate predictable costs, or meaningfully respond to the points raised by commenters.
"The damage to the higher education system and to the economy of the United States is
likely to be catastrophic," U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV, a former President George W. Bush appointee, writes in response to a lawsuit filed by organizations representing universities, educators, and journalists. "Notwithstanding the scale of the likely harm, the government's proffered rationales for the rule are exceptionally weak, and the connection between the rule and the problems it purports to address is exceptionally attenuated."
Although the DHS estimated that complying with the rule would cost about $250 million in the first year, "the real expected costs go far beyond" that figure, Saylor notes. Under prior regulations, foreign students could remain in the United States until they completed their educational programs, including "authorized practical training following completion of studies." For people earning one or more advanced degrees, that process often takes longer than four years. By ignoring that reality, the DHS rule would undermine the huge scientific and economic benefits generated by international students.
A "flexible and........