Attorney General Clark Joins Amicus Brief Challenging Trump Administration Rule Restricting Length of International Student Visas

Attorney General Clark today joined a multistate coalition in filing an amicus brief urging the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to block a Trump Administration rule restricting international students to a fixed four-year visa period while litigation continues. For more than four decades, federal regulations for international students and academic exchange participants have been based on the "duration of status" principle, allowing students and other academic visitors to receive visas that remain in effect while they complete their degree, medical residency, or other programs. In the brief, Attorney General Clark and the coalition argue that a rigid four-year visa regulation, which can only be extended at the whim of the Trump Administration, will cause severe disruption to students and institutions of higher education, wreak havoc on graduate education and academic research, and threaten the economic growth, stability, and innovation of the coalition states.

In the amicus brief, Attorney General Clark and the coalition assert that the rule is incompatible with higher education programs, will discourage prospective students from studying in the U.S., will impose significant burdens and limits on academic programs, and will harm state and local economies. Not only are international students a large portion of the academic community, but the durations of their respective programs often exceed the arbitrary four-year limit imposed by the rule. Nationally, as of 2024, the average time needed to complete graduate or doctoral studies was 7.2 years from the beginning of graduate school, and 5.7 years from the commencement of the doctoral program itself-far exceeding the administration's proposed four-year cap. Without the guarantee that they can complete their education and training, international students will be discouraged from studying in the United States.

Aside from the rich and diverse viewpoints, interests, and skillsets international students bring that enhance the quality of learning institutions and local communities, these students also pay tuition and fees that contribute to colleges and universities' ability to provide courses and financial aid to residents.

In filing the amicus brief, Attorney General Clark joins the attorneys general of California, New York, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Wisconsin, and the Commonwealths of Massachusetts and Virginia and the District of Columbia.