WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced Thursday a sweeping change to how long foreign journalists are permitted to work in the United States, slashing their visa duration to 240 days — a dramatic reduction from what had previously been stays measured in years. Journalists from China face an even steeper cut, limited to just 90 days under the new rule.
The Department of Homeland Security’s final rule eliminates what was known as the “duration of status” system, which had allowed foreign journalists to remain in the U.S. and continue working as long as they remained eligible. In its place, journalists will now be limited to a fixed time period, though renewals will be possible.
The agency argues the change is needed to more thoroughly screen visa holders. However, organizations that advocate on behalf of foreign journalists are pushing back hard, saying the shortened window would make it nearly impossible for international reporters to effectively live and work in the country.
The 90-day restriction placed specifically on Chinese journalists — which does not apply to reporters from Hong Kong or Macau, both of which are considered special administrative regions — is especially severe. Analysts warn it could further strain the already tense relationship between Washington and Beijing, even as both governments have expressed a desire to stabilize their ties.
The announcement comes as President Donald Trump has been pursuing legal actions and issuing threats against domestic news organizations, and as his administration continues to tighten immigration policies more broadly. Foreign journalists, however, are not classified as immigrants under U.S. law.
The new rule takes effect 60 days after it appears in the Federal Register. While Congress has the authority to block such a rule, doing so is exceedingly rare.
The advocacy organization Reporters Without Borders responded sharply to the announcement. “We are outraged that the Trump administration has cruelly limited the duration of visas for foreign journalists from a period of up to five years to a fixed eight months,” the group said in a statement. “This change destroys international journalists’ ability to report from the U.S. and makes it extremely difficult for international outlets to operate here at all.”
The group also warned of a chilling effect on reporting. “The relentless cycle of visa renewals restricts press freedom, as journalists will feel compelled to avoid drawing the administration’s ire, lest their applications be rejected,” it added.
When the agency first proposed the change in August 2025, it stated that the growing number of foreign journalists in the country “poses a challenge” to its ability “to monitor and oversee these nonimmigrants while they are in the United States.” The same rule also affects international students and foreign visitors, who will similarly see their open-ended “duration of status” arrangement replaced with fixed time limits.
By setting defined time periods for entry, the Department of Homeland Security said it would be better equipped to vet visa holders and confirm their activities remain within legal boundaries. Extensions will be available.
This is not the first time such a change has been attempted. During Trump’s first term, a similar proposal was put forward in 2020, but it was pulled back in 2021 after President Joe Biden took office.
The Biden administration did, however, tighten visa rules for Chinese journalists to 90 days in response to how American reporters were being treated in China — including the expulsion of three Wall Street Journal correspondents — during a period of heightened tensions tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden later eased that restriction, extending allowable stays to up to one year.
When the Trump administration floated the idea of reinstating the 90-day rule last year, China’s Foreign Ministry publicly objected, saying it opposed “the U.S.’s discriminatory move targeting a specific country.” The Chinese Embassy in Washington had not responded to a request for comment on the latest decision as of Thursday.
