The SPJ came out against the Trump Administration proposal to limit visas for foreign correspondents in the United States to 240 days.
The Society of Professional Journalists and the SPJ International Community oppose changes related to visas for international journalists working in the United States.
Current visa law allows foreign journalists, once they receive an I Visa, to remain in the United States as long as they are employed by a non-U.S. media organization. The proposed changes would require those same journalists to renew their status every 240 days – about every eight months.
“These proposed changes would create needless obstacles for international journalists who are simply here to do their jobs – report the truth,” said International Community Co-Chair Dan Kubiske. “Forcing them to continually renew their status creates instability, adds bureaucratic hurdles and sends a message that their presence is unwelcome.”
The U.S. government could use the short and frequent renewal requirement to deny visa renewals to journalists whose coverage might not be to the administration’s liking. We have already seen in Hong Kong how the local government has used the visa process to exclude at least 10 journalists in the past few years. Likewise, according to a survey of foreign news organizations in China, one-quarter of the respondents said they are short staffed because of visa delays and denials.
“The last thing we want is for the United States to join ranks with China in the way it treats foreign journalists,” SPJ National President Emily Bloch said.