Trump admin shortens foreign journalist visas to 240 days—90 for Chinese reporters

The Trump administration has moved to shorten the time allotted for foreign journalists on visas in the US, taking the time they are allowed to stay on a visa from five years to just 240 days. For reporters from China, that number is even smaller at just 90 days for time allowed on a given visa.

The new rules announced by the Department of Homeland Security will do away with the older "duration of status” system, which allowed foreign journalists to stay in the US as long as they meet eligibility requirements. That will be replaced with a fixed visa duration system, but visas can also be extended. The shorter rule of 90 days for Chinese journalists could add more tension to the relationship between the US and China.

Although Chinese journalists can only come for 90 days on their visa, the “special administrative regions” of Hong Kong or Macao can stay longer. The rule is set to take effect after it has been on the Federal Register for 60 days.

The DHS said in the filing on the register that "these changes will ensure that DHS has an effective mechanism to periodically and directly assess whether these nonimmigrants are complying with the conditions of their classifications and U.S. immigration laws, and to obtain timely and accurate information about the activities these aliens have engaged in and plan to engage in during their temporary stay in the United States."

The move from the Trump administration comes as the White House has tightened immigration since Trump took office in 2025. The group "Reporters with Borders" was outraged with the decision, and said in a statement, “We 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."

“This change destroys international journalists’ ability to report from the U.S. and makes it extremely difficult for international outlets to operate here at all," the statement added. "The relentless cycle of visa renewals restricts press freedom, as journalists will feel compelled to avoid drawing the administration’s ire, lest their applications be rejected."