State Department reduces new visa validity periods for several countries

This summer, the State Department reduced the validity period and number of permitted entries of nonimmigrant visas for several countries without updating the “What’s New” announcement section on its website. The Immigration and Nationality Act requires these parameters to be set based on visa reciprocity (what benefits U.S. citizens and businesses receive as travelers to the country at issue). As of July 2025, The National Association of Foreign Student Advisors (“NAFSA”) published that visa reciprocity had been changed for the B, F, H, J, M, and O nonimmigrant visa categories for the countries noted here. Many countries have had visa reciprocity severely restricted to having visas be valid for only three months and only a single U.S. entry. 

See NAFSA’s findings here.