The Trump administration plans to shorten the length of validity for some visas issued to Chinese citizens as President Donald Trump works to counter alleged theft of U.S. intellectual property by Beijing. Such changes will begin after June 11. With this new plan, the State Department said that under the new policy, U.S. consular officers may limit how long visas are valid, rather than the usual practice of issuing them for the maximum possible length. For instance, Chinese graduate students will be limited to one-year visas if they are studying in fields like robotics, aviation and high-tech manufacturing. Also, Chinese citizens seeking visas will need special clearance from multiple U.S. agencies if they work as researchers or managers for companies on a U.S. Commerce Department list of entities requiring higher scrutiny. The changes were foreshadowed in Trump’s national security strategy issued in December. That document said the U.S. would review and tighten visa procedures “to reduce economic theft by non-traditional intelligence collectors.” It specifically mentioned possible restrictions on visas for foreign students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics. However, according to the State Department, the application process itself won’t change.

This policy not only causes inconvenience such as frequently visa applications and interviews, but also possible long background check during visa application processing. Please be advised to plan ahead and prepare delay of visa applications.