ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL CHALLENGES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RULE RESTRICTING LENGTH OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT VISAS

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL CHALLENGES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RULE RESTRICTING LENGTH OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT VISAS

August 27, 2026

Chicago - Attorney General Raoul, as part of a multistate coalition of 18 attorneys general, filed an amicus brief on Tuesday urging the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to block a Trump administration rule restricting international students to a fixed four-year visa period while litigation continues.

For more than four decades, federal regulations have applied the "duration of status" principle when administering visas for international students and academic exchange participants, allowing students and other academic visitors to receive visas that remain in effect while they complete their degrees, medical residencies or other programs. In their brief, Attorney General Raoul and the coalition argue that a rigid four-year visa regulation, which can only be extended at the whim of the Trump administration, will cause severe disruption to students and institutions of higher education, wreak havoc on graduate education and academic research, and threaten the economic growth, stability and innovation of the coalition states.

"The Trump administration's new rule targets international students as part of the president's anti-immigrant agenda," Raoul said. "This decision does not make our country any safer or competitive and instead has the potential to increase costs for American students. I will continue to join with my fellow attorneys general in opposing the president's misguided and discriminatory immigration agenda."

In the amicus brief, Raoul and the coalition assert that the rule is incompatible with higher education programs, will discourage prospective students from studying in the U.S., will impose significant burdens and limits on academic programs, and will harm state and local economies. Not only are international students a large portion of the academic community, but the durations of their respective programs often exceed the arbitrary four-year limit imposed by the rule.

Nationally, as of 2024, the average time needed to complete graduate or doctoral studies was 7.2 years from the beginning of graduate school, and 5.7 years from the commencement of the doctoral program itself, far exceeding the administration's proposed four-year cap. Without the guarantee that they can complete their education and training, international students will be discouraged from studying in the U.S.

Aside from the rich and diverse viewpoints, interests and skillsets international students bring that enhance the quality of learning institutions and local communities, these students also pay tuition and fees that contribute to colleges and universities' ability to provide courses and financial aid to residents.

Joining Raoul in filing this amicus brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, Virgina and Wisconsin.