WASHINGTON– The Trump administration has finalized a rule that will prevent international students from staying in the United States for more than four years unless they get approval from the federal government, the Department of Homeland Security said Thursday, announcing a change to a long-standing practice.

The rule, which goes into effect in September, also places restrictions on when and how students can change their major or academic program.

The current rules give students much more flexibility. They are typically admitted to the U.S. for the time necessary to complete the academic program, many of which last longer than four years by design.

Higher education leaders have opposed the rule, arguing that the change creates an administrative burden for schools, universities and the federal government.

“This action is unnecessary and duplicative,” said Zuzana Wootson, deputy director of federal policy at the nonprofit Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. “International students are already among the most monitored nonimmigrant populations in the U.S. and are subject to rigorous oversight by DHS and academic institutions.”

In a statement, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin described the rule as a crackdown on a loophole that international students were exploiting by furthering their studies.

“By implementing clear and finite limits on these visas, the United States is regaining its ability to properly screen, vet and monitor people within our borders,” Mullin said. “This final rule ensures that foreign students remain focused on their primary purpose: completing their studies and returning home.”

The rule is the latest in a series of Trump administration crackdowns on international students. Last spring, widespread cancellations of students’ legal status sent students scrambling to go into hiding or leave the country for fear of being detained for being in the United States illegally.

The federal government also imposed a requirement that visa applicants share their usernames on social media, subjecting them to greater scrutiny. And travel bans affecting more than a dozen countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia further limited the ability of international students to obtain a visa and enter the United States to attend school.

The rule comes at a time when international student enrollment is declining. The effects are felt most acutely in schools with small endowments and student bodies that enroll a large percentage of international students, who have been recruited from abroad. International students are not eligible for federal financial aid and, as a result, often pay full tuition.

Higher education leaders have warned that growing uncertainty could further drive international students elsewhere, with knock-on effects across the workforce and the economy.

“At a time when global competition for talent is intensifying, this policy sends exactly the wrong message,” Fanta Aw, executive director of NAFSA, an association representing international education, said in a statement. “It tells the world’s brightest students and scholars that America is becoming less welcoming, less predictable, and less engaged.”

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