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Meredith Chen

China lashed out on Friday at “discriminatory” new US visa regulations targeting students and journalists among other groups, warning that it reserved the right to take reciprocal countermeasures.
The changes, announced by the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, have also fuelled concerns among Chinese students already in the United States and those planning to study there.
Under the new regulations, part of a White House crackdown on both legal and illegal immigration, student and cultural exchange visas will be limited to a maximum of four years.
“The US restrictions on people-to-people exchanges do not serve any party’s interest,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Friday.
“China firmly rejects the US discriminatory move targeting certain countries,” he said, adding that China reserved the right to respond.
Stephen, a Chinese student who was planning to study for a PhD in computer science in the US, said the new rules left him facing a dilemma.
“I have only received a one-year visa, but my PhD programme is expected to take about five years to complete,” said Stephen, who asked not to have his full name published.
“I am now weighing whether to return to China to renew my visa during my studies or limit my travel to avoid potential complications.”
He said returning to China could expose him to additional screening when applying for a new visa, while staying in the United States for years would mean being separated from his family.
“I’m someone who would really miss home,” he said. “I don’t think I can easily accept not returning home for years.”
The Department of Homeland Security said students who needed to stay for more than four years could either apply to the immigration authorities for an extension or leave the US and then re-enter the country to extend their stays.
The department said the rule would end what it called a “duration of status loophole” by replacing the decades-old system that allowed F, J and I visa holders – students, cultural exchange visitors and journalists – to stay for the length of their programme or without a fixed end date.


Visas for foreign journalists will be valid for up to 240 days – or 90 days for Chinese nationals – replacing a system under which they could be extended for years.
Lin said the new rules would significantly disrupt the operations of Chinese media organisations in the US, adding that they “seriously violated” a 2021 agreement between the two countries.
Under this agreement, reached during Joe Biden’s presidency, the two sides agreed to grant journalists multiple-entry visas without imposing further travel restrictions and promised to approve new journalism visas on an equal footing.
The US government’s move to tighten visa rules was “unlikely to help the US maintain normal exchanges and engagement with the international community”, as it would clearly make it more difficult for students, exchange visitors and journalists to go to the US, said Diao Daming, an international relations professor at Renmin University of China.
He said the US and China had been trying to stabilise their relationship following President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing in May, but to maintain that “hard-won progress”, both sides needed to take more constructive measures.
Some Republicans have called for even tighter restrictions on Chinese students.
“Every single Chinese student visa needs to be cancelled immediately,” Florida congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna wrote on social media on Friday, tagging Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who vowed in 2025 to “aggressively revoke” Chinese students’ visas.
Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, also posted: “Time to yank CCP [Chinese Communist Party] student visas.”
Since returning to the White House in early 2025, Trump has made cracking down on immigration a key policy, increasing scrutiny of legal immigration, revoking student visas and stripping legal status ⁠from hundreds of thousands of migrants.
The new regulations will go into effect 60 days after their publication in the Federal Register on Friday, and are subject to review by the Republican-led Congress.

Stephen said he would probably return to China to renew his visa despite the potential uncertainty created by the new rules.
“There is not much else I can do except see how things develop,” he said, adding that he was watching for possible changes to the policy, including potential legal challenges or a reversal under a future administration.
Although the US appeared to be more hostile towards Chinese students, Stephen said he remained determined to pursue his PhD there, citing the difficulty of securing admission and the country’s leading position in computer science.
But he said he planned to return to China after graduation rather than stay in the US.
Additional reporting by Caroline Lin


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Diplomacy

The changes have heightened concerns among Chinese citizens already studying in the US and those planning to do so


The changes have heightened concerns among Chinese citizens already studying in the US and those planning to do so.


United States

Ron DeSantis

Renmin University of China

China hints at retaliation after US tightens visa rules for students and journalists

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The changes have heightened concerns among Chinese citizens already studying in the US and those planning to do so

The changes have heightened concerns among Chinese citizens already studying in the US and those planning to do so