Student Visa Overhaul Bans Nationals from ‘Adversary’ Countries and Caps Online Classes at 10%

The “Student Visa Integrity Act of 2025” is a massive shake-up of the international student system (F, J, and M visas), changing everything from how schools are accredited to who is allowed to study here. If you’re an employer, a college administrator, or just someone who knows an international student, this bill introduces some seriously strict new rules.

This legislation focuses on three main areas: security, compliance, and academic integrity. On the security front, it increases the maximum prison sentence for visa and ID fraud from 10 years to 15 years (Sec. 3). More significantly, it bans citizens from countries designated as “foreign adversaries”—a list that currently includes China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea—from getting a visa to attend a U.S. college or university (Sec. 15). This is a broad, outright ban for higher education, effective immediately upon the law’s enactment.

The Great Accreditation Crunch

For academic institutions, the biggest hurdle is accreditation. To host international students, schools must now be accredited by an agency recognized by the Secretary of Education (Sec. 4). If your school isn't there yet, the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) can grant a one-year waiver, but only if the school is actively working toward full accreditation. This is a major administrative change, potentially forcing smaller or specialized language schools to dramatically change their operations or risk losing their ability to enroll international students.

Adding to the compliance burden, schools must now hand over copies of any contracts or financial agreements they have with any entity that receives money from the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This includes student clubs or affiliated foundations (Sec. 6). This is a direct attempt to force transparency regarding foreign influence on U.S. campuses.

The End of the Flexible Student Visa

One of the most significant changes for students is the new time limit on their stay. Currently, F, J, and M students are often admitted for “duration of status,” meaning they can stay as long as they are enrolled. This bill eliminates that, requiring DHS to issue a definite end date for the authorized stay, typically the shorter of the program length or four years (Sec. 16). Students from “Countries of Concern”—those supporting terrorism or with high visa overstay rates—will face an even shorter maximum stay of only two years, unless their school uses E-Verify.

If you rely on online classes for flexibility, prepare for a shock: the bill strictly limits online or distance learning to not more than 10 percent of the time or credits required per session for F, M, and J students (Sec. 17). If a class is more than 50% online, the whole thing counts as an online class. This effectively ends the ability of international students to rely on hybrid or fully remote learning options, forcing them back into physical classrooms.

New Headaches for HR and Employers

If your company hires international students for internships or post-graduation work, Section 9 introduces massive new requirements and risks. The employer must now register for E-Verify and report specific job details (location, wage) to the student’s school. Crucially, if the student quits or is fired, the employer must report it within 48 hours. The most concerning provision, however, is the requirement that the employer must swear under penalty of perjury that the student is not taking a job from a U.S. worker and that the job terms are identical to those offered to similarly situated U.S. workers.

If an employer fails to meet these complex reporting requirements, the penalties fall directly on the student: the student’s work authorization can be restricted, potentially barring them from working for that company for up to ten years if the failure to protect U.S. workers is deemed willful. This shifts a huge amount of compliance risk onto employers, who must now navigate complex federal reporting rules or risk derailing a student’s career.

Vetting and Immediate Suspensions

The bill dramatically tightens oversight of schools and their officials. Key personnel must now be U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents, and undergo criminal and sex offender background checks every four years (Sec. 9). Furthermore, DHS is granted the power to immediately suspend a school’s approval to host international students if there is merely a suspicion or an indictment for fraud involving a school official (Sec. 8). This immediate action bypasses typical due process and could instantly shut down a program based on unproven allegations, leaving hundreds of students stranded.