India raises with US issues of students, travellers: MEA on new visa rule

1 min readNew DelhiJul 18, 2026 06:00 AM IST

Under the new regulations, student and exchange visa periods would be no longer than four years. The new regulations will come into effect 60 days from publication in the federal register, subject to Congressional review.

A day after the Donald Trump administration moved to tighten the visa duration for foreign students, journalists and cultural exchange visitors, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday that India takes up the issues of difficulties faced by genuine travellers and students bound for the US.

According to a US government notice, the new final rule from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) creates a fixed time period for F visas for international students, J visas that allow visitors on cultural exchange programmes to work in the US, and I visas for members of the media.

Currently, these visas are available for the duration of the programme or employment in the US. Under the new regulations, student and exchange visa periods would be no longer than four years. The new regulations will come into effect 60 days from publication in the federal register, subject to Congressional review.

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More

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Ministry of External Affairs