US further tightens immigration, student and media visa policies

WASHINGTON: The administration of President Donald Trump has further tightened the immigration law of the United States this week through a set of new policies which scrutinize green card applicants more carefully and impose new restrictions on foreign students and journalists.

The most recent move was made on Wednesday, with the announcement by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that it was replacing the form used by the immigrants eligible for permanent residency within the country.

The new Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, will become mandatory starting September 18, once a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule on public-charge inadmissibility goes into effect. There will be no grace period for the new form, according to USCIS.

The new public-charge policy guidance provides immigration officers with a broader context for assessing whether an applicant for the adjustment of status is likely to become a "public charge" - in other words, a person who will become dependent on governmental aid.

According to USCIS, immigration officers will take the applicant's situation into account as a whole, evaluating all factors and evidence needed for the determination whether or not the immigrant will become a public charge. There are certain groups of immigrants that are exempt from the public-charge ground of inadmissibility.

According to DHS, the new measure is meant to emphasize the statutory requirement of the immigrants' being self-sufficient rather than dependant on taxpayer-financed assistance. The rule will take effect on September 18.

For immigrants preparing to file for adjustment of status, the most immediate consequence is a change in the paperwork.

USCIS said the September 18, 2026, edition of Form I-485 will replace the current January 20, 2025, edition.

The agency will accept the old edition if it is postmarked or electronically submitted before September 18. It will reject the old edition if it is submitted on or after that date. The new edition, meanwhile, should not be filed before September 18.

The green-card changes come as the administration is also altering the rules governing foreign students, exchange visitors and representatives of foreign media.

A separate DHS final rule will replace the long-standing “duration of status” system for F, J and I non-immigrants with fixed periods of admission and new extension procedures. The rule takes effect on September 15.

Under the new system, students and exchange visitors will no longer simply remain in the US for the duration of their program under the old D/S designation. Instead, they will receive a fixed period of admission and, when necessary, will have to seek an extension.

Foreign media representatives are also covered by the change. The new rule replaces D/S admissions for the I classification with fixed periods and additional requirements rather than the previous open-ended duration-of-status arrangement.

The administration says the changes will provide greater oversight and allow DHS to determine more closely whether foreign students, exchange visitors and media representatives are maintaining their immigration status.