Changes to U.S. Visa Reciprocity Schedules and What It Means for OSU International students
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has recently revised the visa reciprocity schedules
for over 50 countries, significantly reducing the validity period and number of entries
allowed for many non-immigrant visas. These changes affect a broad range of visa categories
and have important implications for international students, scholars, faculty, staff,
and departments at Oklahoma State University.
What Has Changed?
- Many non-immigrant visas—including F (student), J (exchange visitor), B (business/tourism), H (temporary worker), O (extraordinary ability), and others—are now issued with a validity period of only 3 months in many cases.
- Most visas under this new policy are limited to single entry only, meaning that travelers will need to apply for a new visa each time they seek to re-enter the United States.
- Previously, many of these visas allowed multiple entries and longer validity periods, often up to 12 months or more.
Who Is Affected?
This change applies to foreign nationals from approximately 50 countries, including but not limited to:
- China, Nigeria, Iran, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Angola, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Cuba, Syria, Libya, Somalia, and many countries across Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands.
- Previously issued visas retain their original validity and are not impacted by these changes.
For details see below.
https://www.nafsa.org/regulatory-information/dos-reduces-validity-new-visas-number-countries