The restrictions were announced by the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security, now led by Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin. Picture credit: Saul Loeb / AFP.
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News - 18-07-2026
The Trump administration announced on 16 July it will drastically shorten visas for foreign journalists in the United States to 240 days, down from years, and cut those for Chinese journalists to only 90 days, raising concerns over press freedom. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) strongly condemns this drastic restriction, which is clearly intended to instil a reflex of self-censorship in the journalists targeted.
The Trump administration has moved to tighten visa rules for foreign students, journalists and cultural exchange visitors. Student and cultural exchange visas would be limited to four years. Visas for journalists, which previously lasted for years (up to five years), would now last up to eight months. In the case of Chinese journalists, visas would last up to 90 days. These changes will impact thousands of foreign journalists and their families who are in the United States through the nonimmigrant “I visa” for foreign media representatives.
The new rule announced by the US Department of Homeland Security will do away with the “duration of status” system, which allows foreign journalists to stay and work in the United States as long as they meet eligibility requirements. The rule will take effect 60 days after it’s published in the Federal Register.
This isn’t the first time shortening visas has been proposed: the first Trump administration sought to change the visa rules in 2020, but the proposal was withdrawn in 2021 when President Joe Biden took office.
“This arbitrary restriction is not based on any objective criteria,” said EFJ President Maja Sever. “It deprives international journalists of the opportunity to report on current affairs from the United States and hinders the proper functioning of the international media on US soil. For foreign correspondents based in the US, these new administrative constraints constitute a form of pressure likely to have a chilling effect on press freedom. The obligation to endlessly apply for visa renewals is not merely an administrative burden. It is also a process likely to induce a reflex of self-censorship among foreign correspondents, who are now at the mercy of arbitrary decisions to refuse visas. The EFJ urges Congress to reject this anti-press rule”.
