WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is taking aggressive action to prevent students from countries that hate the U.S. from getting their foot in the door at American colleges and universities with his introduction of the Student Visa Integrity Act. Students from adversarial countries—such as China and Iran—would be prohibited from studying in the United States altogether. Senator Tuberville announced his new legislation on Mornings with Maria.
“I was recently shocked to learn how many students from hostile countries like China and Iran are studying at our American universities—including in my home state of Alabama,” said Senator Tuberville. “We need to go on offense against countries who hate us and are desperate to try to take us down—as we saw with the violent, anti-American protests on our college campuses over the past few months. There is zero reason why we should be allowing students from countries that hate us to take the spot of a law-abiding American citizen at our elite colleges and universities. I’m proud to introduce the Student Visa Integrity Act to crack down on rampant abuse of student visas and to make our American Universities Prioritize Americans Again.”
Complete text for the Student Visa Integrity Act can be found here. Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), Immigration Accountability Project, and Heritage Action endorsed Senator Tuberville’s legislation.
“The Student Visa Integrity Act makes it clear: a student visa is a privilege, not a right. Visas provide foreign nationals a special opportunity to study in the United States before returning home – not a free pass to exploit our laws or remain indefinitely in the country. FAIR is proud to support this bill and applauds Senator Tuberville for fighting to prevent student visa abuse, uphold our laws, and keep American communities safe,” said Joe Chatham, Director of Government Relations for FAIR.
“The student visa program has been plagued with fraud and abuse for decades, and reforms are long overdue. The Student Visa Integrity Act of 2025 would help restore integrity to the program, ending open-ended ‘duration of status’ for foreign students, increasing penalties for program abuse, and closing significant national security loopholes exploited by our foreign adversaries. The Immigration Accountability Project is thankful to Senator Tuberville for introducing this vital effort,” said Grant Newman, Director of Government Relations for Immigration Accountability Project.
“China and other adversarial countries pose a direct threat to the United States, our schools, educators, and our students. The Student Visa Integrity Act would protect American educational institutions from foreign influence. Heritage Action has worked tirelessly to promote legislation that protects our education system from destructive foreign adversaries. We are committed to this goal and applaud Senator Tuberville for introducing the Student Visa Integrity Act,” said Steve Chartan, Vice President of Government Relations for Heritage Action.
BACKGROUND:
Foreign students are currently tracked and monitored using the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). This system was mandated by Congress after the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing where one of the people responsible was in the United States on an expired student visa. The system was finally implemented in 2003 and has received minimal updates since.
Recent data shows that approximately 1.5 million international students are studying in the United States using F-1 or M-1 visas, which is more than DOUBLE the amount in 2012. Data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security also showed that during Fiscal Year 2023, an estimated 50,000 student or exchange visitor visa holders overstayed the completion of their program.
The Student Visa Integrity Act would:
- Prohibit citizens from adversarial countries from studying in the U.S.
- Require schools to disclose any dealings with the Chinese government
- Prohibit foreign students from transferring schools or changing their major/program of study
- Increase penalties for schools and officials found engaging in visa fraud by making convicted offenders eligible for prison time or to be disqualified from the Student and Exchange Visitor Program altogether
- Require that foreign students have a definitive end date to prevent visa overstays and also require in-person interviews for some foreign students
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.
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