‘Four years isn’t enough’: South Korean students shaken by new US stay limits

SEOUL – A new US policy capping international students’ stay at four years has sent shockwaves through South Korean international student communities across the country.The US Department of Homeland Security announced on July 16 that it had finalised a rule setting a four-year limit on the stay of international students on F visas and exchange visitors on J visas.Set to take effect in September, the measure is part of the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown and an end to the long-standing system that allowed F and J visa holders to remain in the United States for as long as they maintained their student or exchange status.“For decades, foreign students have been admitted into the US indefinitely, allowing thousands to abuse our immigration system by perpetually enrolling in courses to avoid having to leave the US,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement.“This final rule ensures that foreign students remain focused on their primary purpose: Completing their studies and returning home.”Reuters reported that the number of US student visa holders topped 1.8 million in 2024, up 11 per cent from 2023.Under the new rule, students who have already entered the US on student visas would also automatically become subject to the four-year limit.Those who need to remain beyond that period would have to apply to the Department of Homeland Security for an extension, which the authorities said would be granted only after “rigorous scrutiny”.Anxiety has spread rapidly among South Korean international student communities across the US, particularly among those currently on or preparing to apply for Optional Practical Training, a temporary work authorisation that allows F-1 students to take jobs related to their field of study after graduation.The programme allows most graduates to work in the US for one year, or up to three years in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, often serving as a bridge to employer-sponsored visas and permanent residency.Kim Se-hee, a 24-year-old who transferred to a nursing school in Chicago last fall and has three to four years of study ahead before seeking a nursing position at a hospital through OPT, fears she could be sent back home before getting a chance to launch her nursing career.“I can’t graduate early by cramming my coursework, there’s no guarantee I’ll pass the NCLEX-RN (US licensing exam for registered nurses) on my first attempt, and I’ve been told the OPT application process also takes time. Four years really isn’t much time,” Kim told The Korea Herald.“I’ve been working toward building a life in the US, so if I have to go back to Korea right after getting my US nursing license, it would all be for nothing.”The uncertainty is also weighing on South Koreans pursuing education in the US, with some saying the proposed four-year limit could leave little room for unexpected changes, such as switching majors after discovering another field that better suits their interests.“I’m starting to wonder whether studying in the US is worth the risk if the rules can change after I get there,” one user wrote on Mijunmo, a popular Naver community for South Koreans interested in studying, immigrating and living in the US.According to the Korean Embassy in Washington, 11,861 Korean students were staying in the US on F-1 visas in 2025, along with 1,347 family members on F-2 visas. Another 7,985 Koreans were in the country as exchange visitors on J-1 visas, accompanied by 3,180 dependents.The proposal would also impose fixed periods of stay on foreign national journalists.Journalists working for overseas media outlets who enter the US on I visas would be allowed to stay for up to 240 days at a time and would have to apply to extend their stay every 240 days. Chinese journalists would face a shorter limit of 90 days per stay. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK