U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) recently filed legislation to prevent students from hostile countries from studying at American colleges and universities.

Under the bill, students from adversarial countries—such as China and Iran—would be prohibited from studying in the United States altogether. 

Tuberville announced his new legislation on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” on Thursday.

“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,” Tuberville said. “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.”

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), Immigration Accountability Project, and Heritage Action endorsed 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.

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.

“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.

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.

“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.

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

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