Judge warned of ‘catastrophic’ damage to universities and US economy

A federal judge in Boston on Monday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a new visa-duration rule one day before it was set to take effect, ruling for a coalition of unions and higher education advocacy groups that the Department of Homeland Security had failed to justify the change.

US District Judge F. Dennis Saylor, an appointee of President George W. Bush, said DHS had adopted the policy based on “exceptionally weak” rationales. The agency had cited national security and the need to prevent fraud in the visa program, but Saylor found it had not adhered to its legal obligations to engage with concerns about a policy change or to consider less burdensome alternatives.

The rule, adopted in July, would replace a system through which the United States for nearly five decades has issued visas to foreign students for their “duration of status” — meaning they could remain as long as they maintained their program enrollment or employment. That system, Saylor wrote, has permitted tens of millions of foreign students and researchers to come to the US, leading to “groundbreaking research in science, medicine, and technology, substantial economic growth, and a host of other benefits, often on a vast scale.”

Under the new rule, F visas for international students and J visas that allow visitors on cultural exchange programs to work in the US would be capped at four years, while I visas for journalists, which now can last years, would be up to 240 days.

About 1.6 million people currently hold F visas and another 500,000 hold J visas. Major research universities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard have large percentages of foreign students, particularly at the graduate level, Saylor noted. If the rule took effect, such universities would probably suffer hundreds of millions of dollars in costs and enrollment would decline.

“The damage to the higher education system and to the economy of the United States is likely to be catastrophic,” Saylor wrote.

In a statement, James Percival, the DHS general counsel, criticized the ruling, saying that under it US Immigration and Customs Enforcement must “permit this rampant abuse of our immigration system.” Percival added: “Come on a student visa, take one class per semester, and stay here for decades.”

Miriam Feldblum, the head of one of the plaintiffs, the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, said the judge’s ruling recognized the harm the rule would cause to international students, universities, and the economy if it were allowed to take effect.

“While the case continues, this relief preserves the longstanding system that enables our colleges and universities – and our country – to attract, educate, and retain global talent,” Feldblum said.

The administration can appeal the ruling or modify the rule to address the procedural deficiencies Saylor identified. The underlying case continues.