WASHINGTON : A US federal judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration rule that sought to limit how long foreign students, exchange visitors and journalists could remain in the United States, just a day before the policy was due to take effect.

US District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction on Monday, halting implementation of the rule while a legal challenge against it proceeds.

The policy, finalised by the Department of Homeland Security in July, would have imposed a maximum stay of four years for foreign students and exchange visitors, while journalists would generally have been limited to 240 days. Journalists from China would have faced a shorter 90-day limit.

The new system would have replaced the long-standing “duration of status” framework, under which many students and exchange visitors can remain in the country for the length of their approved academic programme or activity.

Under the blocked rule, students, scholars and journalists who needed to remain beyond the prescribed period would have been required to seek extensions from the Department of Homeland Security. Approval would have been at the discretion of immigration officials.

Judge Saylor found that the policy was likely to cause serious harm to US higher education and the wider economy, while questioning whether the government had adequately justified such a major change.

Several higher-education organisations and labour unions had challenged the rule, with the plaintiffs representing nearly 600 public and private institutions.

Saylor also rejected the government’s request that any relief be restricted only to institutions represented in the lawsuit. He noted that the United States has more than 5,000 higher-education institutions and said applying different rules to different universities and students would create a complicated and potentially inconsistent system.

The Trump administration had argued that fixed visa periods would help authorities combat fraud, strengthen immigration enforcement and prevent people from overstaying.

However, universities warned that the limits could disrupt academic programmes that routinely extend beyond four years.

Harvard University President Alan M. Garber had earlier questioned the four-year limit, noting that a typical PhD programme can take at least six years to complete.

The judge also raised concerns over the potential impact of the policy on press freedom, pointing to the possibility that visa extensions for foreign journalists critical of the government or immigration authorities could be denied.

Saylor said the weak connection between some of the rule’s provisions and the government’s stated national-security objectives raised questions over whether the measure could instead be used to exert greater control over academic institutions and the press.

The preliminary injunction means the rule will remain suspended while the court considers the broader legal challenge.

For now, the ruling preserves the existing system governing the stays of international students, exchange visitors and foreign journalists in the United States.

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