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In the Lab

Visa time limits on foreign Ph.D. students and postdocs will harm U.S. science, experts warn

New rule would require Homeland Security approval for stays longer than four years

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By Jonathan Wosen<br>July 28, 2026

West Coast Biotech & Life Sciences Reporter

Jonathan Wosen

[email protected]

Jonathan Wosen is STAT’s West Coast biotech & life sciences reporter. You can reach Jonathan on Signal at jwosen.27.

For nearly half a century, the federal government encouraged international students and scholars to study in the U.S. by allowing them to stay for the duration of their training — regardless of how many years it took. The Trump administration now plans to tear up that long-standing policy, fueling concerns in the research community that the U.S. could lose out on talented foreign scientists.

In mid-July, the Department of Homeland Security announced that future international students and postdoctoral researchers will be allowed to stay in the U.S. for no more than four years on nonimmigrant visas unless they apply for and receive an extension from DHS. Those already in the U.S. won’t need an extension if their training is set to end before September 2030, even if they’ve already been in the country for more than four years.<br>Advertisement

The department has said the change, which takes effect Sept. 15, is necessary to prevent “forever students,” who they allege manipulate the current system by enrolling in courses to avoid leaving the U.S. But immigration experts, academics, and advocates for students and postdocs warn the stricter policy will harm the nation’s scientific standing by deterring internationals, who made up nearly a quarter of life science Ph.D. graduates and 59% of postdocs in 2023, from coming to the U.S. for training.

The average biomedical Ph.D. takes five to six years to complete, meaning a majority of incoming foreign graduate students would need to apply for DHS extensions to complete their work. And while the length of postdoctoral appointments is more variable than graduate training, National Science Foundation survey data indicate that about a fifth of postdocs are likely to have worked in that role for more than six years.

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“This rule puts the U.S. at risk of losing key individuals to global competitors,” said Thomas Kimbis, CEO of the National Postdoctoral Association. “We need to make our environment attractive and competitive. This rule moves us in the wrong direction.”<br>Advertisement

The duration of status policy, first implemented in 1979, allows foreign students and scholars to remain in the U.S. as long as they are making progress toward completing their studies. When it debuted the policy, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service said the approach would streamline international students’ admission into the country, as they’d no longer have to apply for annual extensions.

But the Trump administration alleges this practice encourages fraud. In its publication of the new visa restrictions, posted on the Federal Register, Homeland Security said it had identified more than 2,100 foreign students who entered the country between 2000 and 2010 and who were still listed as students in April 2025.

The agency did not answer questions from STAT about the new policy and the process for evaluating extension applications, instead forwarding an already-issued press release. “For nearly half a century, the outdated ‘duration of status’ system has compromised national security and created an environment ripe for immigration fraud,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin in the release.

Elizabeth Goss, an immigration attorney in Boston, doesn’t buy that claim. She points out that the federal government has closely monitored foreign...