WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The Trump administration announced Thursday it will drastically shorten visas for foreign journalists in the U.S. to 240 days, down from years, and cut those for Chinese journalists to only 90 days, raising concerns over press freedom in the United States and prompting China to warn of possible reciprocal countermeasures.
The rule announced by the Department of Homeland Security will do away with the 鈥渄uration of status鈥� system, which allows foreign journalists to stay and work in the United States as long as they meet eligibility requirements. That will be replaced with a fixed period of time, though the visas may be extended.
The agency says it’s necessary to better vet the visa holders. But advocates for foreign journalists oppose the change, saying the drastically shorter stay would severely restrict their ability to live and work in the States.
The even shorter visa rule for Chinese journalists, which does not include those from the 鈥渟pecial administrative regions鈥� of Hong Kong or Macao, is particularly harsh and could add tensions to the already fraught relations between Washington and Beijing, despite both leaders stating they intend to stabilize ties.
The decision comes at a time when President Donald Trump is with multiple threats and legal actions at home and his administration is tightening immigration policies, though foreign journalists are not considered immigrants.
Journalism organizations denounce the decision
The rule will take effect 60 days after it鈥檚 published in the Federal Register. Congress can reject a rule, but it’s extremely rare.
鈥淲e 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,鈥� the advocacy group Reporters with Borders said in a statement. 鈥淭his change destroys international journalists鈥� ability to report from the U.S. and makes it extremely difficult for international outlets to operate here at all.鈥�
鈥淭he relentless cycle of visa renewals restricts press freedom, as journalists will feel compelled to avoid drawing the administration鈥檚 ire, lest their applications be rejected,鈥� it said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists released a statement calling the new visa policy 鈥渢he behavior of a backsliding democracy, not the international vanguard of free speech.鈥�
In proposing the change in August 2025, the federal agency said the rising number of foreign journalists in the U.S. 鈥減oses a challenge鈥� to its ability 鈥渢o monitor and oversee these nonimmigrants while they are in the United States.鈥�
It added that students and foreign visitors also will see their previous rule of 鈥渄uration of status鈥� replaced with fixed periods .
By admitting them into the country for a fixed period, the Department of Homeland Security said it could better vet the visa holders to ensure their activities are permissible. The visas can be extended.
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.
But the White House then for Chinese journalists to only 90 days, in response to the in China, including the expulsion of three Wall Street Journal reporters, as tensions flared up during the COVID-19 pandemic between the two countries. The Biden administration later , allowing stays to increase to up to a year.
When the Trump administration proposed to revive the 90-day rule last year, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it opposed 鈥渢he U.S.鈥檚 discriminatory move targeting a specific country.鈥�
China warns of reciprocal measures
China’s Foreign Ministry called the decision 鈥渄iscriminatory鈥� and said it would affect the work of Chinese media in the U.S.
鈥淐hina urges the U.S. to immediately revoke its discriminatory policies targeting Chinese journalists and effectively safeguard their lawful rights and interests in the U.S.,鈥� said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian at a daily briefing in Beijing. He added that 鈥淐hina reserves the right to take reciprocal countermeasures.鈥�
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AP journalists Fu Ting in Washington and E. Eduardo Castillo in Beijing contributed to the report.
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