Trump administration backtracks on pledge for green cards to student visa holders

As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump proposed giving international students who graduate from U.S. colleges green cards along with their diploma. But since taking office in January 2025, his administration has done the opposite, making it harder for international students to secure legal status in the U.S.

Under existing law, international students who want to stay in the U.S. after graduation can apply to do so through several programs. But for many of those programs, the administration has made it harder to get the visas.

One visa program, Optional Practical Training, allows recipients to work in their field of study for 12 months after graduation. In 2024, this program gave work authorization to 194,554 international students, a 21 percent increase above the 2023 level, according to a Student and Exchange Visitor Program report. 

But during a May confirmation hearing for Joseph Edlow, who is now director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, he said he would seek to eliminate the program. 

In the meantime, the Department of Homeland Security proposed capping the length of time international students can stay in the U.S. at four years, with the possibility of extension. 

Another type of visa, H-1B, is often used by international students to continue working in the U.S. in specialized roles. But the Department of Homeland Security changed how it selects recipients, prioritizing higher-wage, higher-skill applicants. 

"Since the H-1B visa is a major pathway that international students use to stay and work in the U.S. as a bridge to a green card, this change in the H-1B lottery may make the pathway from student visa to green card harder," the Migration Policy Institute, a think tank that studies immigration, said in a statement. 

From the 2023-2024 school year to the 2024-2025 school year, new undergraduate international student enrollment declined by about 7% nationwide, according to the Institute of International Education's Open Doors, a report sponsored by the State Department that tracks international student data. The decline for graduate students was even sharper — almost 15%. 

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. 

The administration made no tangible progress on guaranteeing green cards, or any other legal status, for international students who graduate from U.S. institutions. To the contrary, the administration has made moves to limit international students' ability to stay in the U.S. after graduation. We rate the promise Stalled.