TASHKENT, July 17. /Dunyo IA/.  U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has changed the rules for issuing visas to foreign journalists, students and exchange visitors, limiting their stay in the country to a fixed term, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.

According to the TASS news agency, American authorities operate on the assumption that the rule change will provide them with “additional protection and greater oversight” and will also “allow for closer monitoring of whether holders of the specified non-immigrant visas maintain their status during the period of temporary stay in the U.S.”.

Foreign journalists, students, and exchange visitors receive visas of categories I, F, and J, respectively. According to the previous rules, these documents allowed staying on the territory of the U.S. for as long as the purposes and conditions of arrival in the country were respected, for example, as long as a person continued to work for a foreign media outlet or study at an American university. Until now, such visas did not have a fixed period of validity in most cases.

According to the new rule, foreign journalists will be able to enter the U.S. for work for a period of no more than 240 days, with the possibility of extending it if necessary. For citizens of China, it is proposed to limit the mentioned period to 90 days. Foreign students and exchange visitors will be able to stay in the country for the duration of their studies or exchange program, but for no more than four years.