Policy Watch: DHS puts new limit on international student stays in the US

DHS puts 4-year limit on international student stays in the US

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a rule July 17 limiting how long international students can study in the US. Starting Sept. 15, students with F-1 and J-1 visas can stay in the US for up to 4 years.

This 4-year limit would replace the current “duration of status” framework. In place since 1978, duration of status allowed students to stay in the US for as long as it took to complete their academic programs.

DHS secretary Markwayne Mullin says in a July 16 press release that by implementing these changes to the student visa process, “the United States is reclaiming its ability to properly screen, vet, and monitor individuals within our borders.”

But the current system already provides “a rigorous and highly effective system of oversight, compliance, and accountability,” Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of Nafsa, an association of international educators, says in a statement. She calls the DHS rule “a misguided and unnecessary policy shift that injects uncertainty, bureaucracy, and fear into a system that has long worked effectively.”

Nafsa, as well as several other higher education organizations, raised concerns about the rule when it was first proposed last August. Many, including one coalition of over 60 associations, pointed out that the 4-year limit would be “unworkable” for the majority of international students, since according to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, it takes roughly 4.3 years for students to obtain their bachelor’s degrees and 5.7 years to complete a doctoral program.

In response to these comments, the final DHS rule says visa holders can apply for an extension of stay in cases of compelling academic reasons or other extenuating circumstances. But, in a recent statement, the American Council on Education questions how the DHS “will manage the anticipated volume of extension requests generated by the new process, given the agency’s existing case backlog.”

Under the new rule, current international students will be allowed to remain in the country for the remainder of their academic programs or until November 2030—whichever comes first—unless they apply for an extension.

The new DHS rule is the Donald J. Trump administration’s second attempt to impose time limits on student visas. Toward the end of the president’s first term, the department proposed a similar rule, which was rescinded by the Joe Biden administration in 2021.

— Krystal Vasquez

Trump administration can’t cancel existing grants because of new priorities, court rules

A US District Court judge ruled July 17 that the Donald J. Trump administration cannot retroactively terminate grants that don’t align with new presidential priorities.

Since Trump returned to office for his second term, his administration has said it has the right to terminate previously issued grants based on a clause within regulations of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that says agencies can terminate a grant if it “no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities.”

Last year, 23 states and the District of Columbia sued the administration claiming that it was misusing this section of the regulations. In the suit, the plaintiffs say that the cancellation of thousands of federal grants was done by “unlawfully invoking a single subclause buried in federal regulations” that provides agencies with “virtually unfettered authority to withhold federal funding any time they no longer wish to support the programs for which Congress has appropriated funding.”

In her ruling, US District judge Indira Talwani writes that the court agrees with the plaintiffs and finds that the OMB termination clause “does not permit agencies to terminate grants based on program goals and agency priorities identified after grants were awarded.”

It’s unclear whether the administration plans to file an appeal. The OMB did not respond to C&EN’s request for comment.

In a statement, Maryland attorney general Anthony G. Brown says the ruling “protects billions of dollars in already awarded federal grants from being cancelled without warning or clear justification.”

Notably, however, the ruling will not reinstate any terminated grants. Talwani states in her ruling that “any challenges to past award terminations” will need to be brought to the Court of Federal Claims.

— Krystal Vasquez

House passes bill aiming to reduce animal testing in drug development

The US House of Representatives on Monday passed a bill aimed at reducing the use of animal testing in drug development. The bill, which has received bipartisan support, arrived in the Senate on Tuesday.

The legislation is the latest version of the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act, a series of amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938. In 2022, Congress passed the 2.0 version of the bill, which required the FDA to recognize nonanimal testing methods as legitimate ways to determine a new drug’s safety and efficacy.

But that law left open questions about which methods—sometimes called new approach methodologies, or NAMs—would be considered valid, Pfizer researchers wrote in a 2024 review. So in early 2025, senators introduced the 3.0 version directing the FDA to design a process for approving NAMs.

“The House passage of the FDA Modernization Act 3.0 marks a major step toward a more modern, effective, and humane system for evaluating medicines,” Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA), who introduced the bill, says in a statement.

Once the bill is signed into law, the FDA must publish a rule about NAMs within 1 year. That rule must swap all mentions of animal testing with broader references to “nonclinical” data, models, and research.

Testing 367 therapeutic interventions required 4,443 animal studies, according to a 2024 analysis by researchers in Switzerland; only 5% of those treatments were ultimately approved for use in humans in the US, UK, or Switzerland.

Animal rights groups applauded the bill’s passage.

“With the imminent enactment of the FDA Modernization Act 3.0, we can as a nation embrace scientifically superior methods that can speed the development of safer medicines, reduce costs, and spare countless animals from counterproductive testing on them,” Wayne Pacelle, president of the Center for a Humane Economy and Animal Wellness Action, says in a statement.

The FDA has already moved to phase out the use of animals in clinical testing and research. In March, for example, the agency published guidelines to encourage drug companies to use NAMs.

— Laura Dattaro, special to C&EN

UK government scraps science department in cabinet shake-up

The UK government has scrapped its dedicated science department and brought responsibility for the sector under a newly created business ministry. The move is part of a wider government reshuffle by the UK’s new prime minister, the Labour Party’s Andy Burnham, who took office July 20.

Responsibility for the science and innovation portfolio now lies with the secretary of state for business, innovation, science, and trade, Jonathan Reynolds. While Patrick Vallance, a former head of R&D at GlaxoSmithKline and the UK’s previous science minister, was booted in the shake-up, Burnham’s government installed its first dedicated artificial intelligence minister, Kanishka Narayan.

During a turbulent time in UK politics, the past decade has seen responsibility for science ping-pong among seven ministers and three secretaries of state. The now abandoned Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) was established in 2023 and has faced criticism for being overly focused on AI at the expense of the wider R&D ecosystem.

The technology sector opposed plans to close the DSIT. In a July 18 letter to Burnham, TechUK and the Startup Coalition warn that breaking up the department would “slow momentum at a time when pace is essential” for economic growth and for the UK’s global standing.

Striking a more positive note, Universities UK says science and business are natural allies, and reuniting them under one department could make for a more cohesive strategy. “Innovation from our sector helps build a better future for communities and businesses, and well-funded research today will generate the breakthroughs we will rely on in the years ahead,” a Universities UK spokesperson says in an email. “This strongly aligns with the new government’s mission and we look forward to working with them to ensure science, research and innovation remains at the heart of the new strategy.”

The president of the Royal Society, Paul Nurse, says that it is “essential that science is in no way a junior partner” in the business department. “We need to see the prime minister and the new secretary of state put their active support behind the full science system,” he says in a statement. “That is how we make science deliver across all parts of government and the best way to make science work for everyone.”

— Vanessa Zainzinger, special to C&EN

EU agency recommends lower limit for TFA in food, setting stage for regulation

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published recommendations on July 22 to reduce the level of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) that should be considered safe and allowed in food. The recommendations could lead to tighter TFA regulations in the European Union.

EFSA proposes reducing the acceptable daily intake of TFA from 0.050 mg/kg to 0.014 mg/kg of body weight. “These updated values are based on new evidence, which showed, among other effects, that TFA changes levels of thyroxine—a hormone produced by the thyroid gland that plays an important role in regulating the body,” EFSA says in a press release.

Trifluoroacetic acid is a breakdown product of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including refrigerants and some pesticides. In March 2025, the European Commission requested that EFSA and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) review the environmental behavior of TFA in soil and water. The full review is expected to be completed by summer 2027, EFSA says in a press release.

The recent announcement from EFSA comes after a June 5 recommendation from ECHA’s Risk Assessment Committee to classify TFA and its inorganic salts as persistent in the environment, mobile, and toxic to reproduction, according to the committee’s meeting notes (PDF).

The recommendations from ECHA and EFSA do not automatically trigger new regulations but will be taken into account by the European Commission and member states as they consider potential regulations.

The nongovernmental organizations Pesticide Action Network Europe and Générations Futures say in a press release that they “welcome this long-overdue step, but warn the revised values still are not protective enough.” They cite EFSA’s underestimating of TFA’s carcinogenic potential and its potential impacts on the immune system and brain development.

— Bec Roldan, special to C&EN

FDA to close applications for drug development pilot program next April

The US Food and Drug Administration will stop accepting applications to its Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) Development Readiness Pilot Program in April 2027, according to a strategy document released by the agency Thursday. The program will continue for previously accepted participants.

While most drugs and biologics need to progress through Phase 1, 2, and 3 trials before the FDA can consider them for approval, agency designations such as Breakthrough Therapy and Fast Track can grant drugs expedited approval timelines. In these cases, there’s a need for completing CMC activities, like formulating the drug and establishing manufacturing protocols, faster than usual. The pilot program was launched in April 2023 with the aim of helping sponsors with expedited drug development timelines accelerate their CMC activities.

According to the document, a total of 10 drug or biologic products were accepted to participate in the pilot over its first 3 years. Participants, which the document refers to as sponsors of drug and biological products, reported that communication with the FDA under the program helped reduce uncertainty and identify potential issues that could lead to subsequent delays. But some participants said it was unclear what additional benefit they gained from the pilot beyond engaging with the FDA, which they can do through other programs.

The FDA says that, going forward, it will encourage sponsors to focus on their CMC plans earlier in drug development and that it remains committed to offering regulatory flexibility for drugs on expedited timelines.

Overall, the agency will “encourage expanded participation in programs, both current and emerging, that provide early engagement with FDA on select CMC topics, such as manufacturing and facility readiness, as appropriate, before submission of the full marketing application,” according to the strategy document.

— Yaakov Zinberg, special to C&EN