US to shorten length of visas for some Chinese citizens: White House

The United States has decided to cut short the length of validity of visas issued o Chinese citizens as part of a strategy to prevent intellectual property theft by US rivals, a White House official said on Tuesday.

The decision will be made on a case-by-case basis although the visa process remains the same, reports said.

The US State Department will implement measures from June 11 to “enhance security for some Chinese visa applicants,” the official said.

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Reports further said that the maximum validity for Chinese student visas would remain the same, five years, but that consular officials have the authority to put an earlier expiration date on some visas.

A US official has said that Chinese graduate students would be limited to one-year visas if they are studying in certain fields, such as robotics, aviation and high-tech manufacturing.

The change would come as President Donald Trump’s administration attempts to crack down on what it says is theft of US intellectual property by China.

“Going forward, a reduction in the validity of some newly issued visas is part of the National Security Strategy to ensure that intellectual property is not transferred to our competitors,” the official said, referring to a document issued by the Trump administration in December.

The official said the instructions also stated that Chinese citizens seeking visas would need special clearance from multiple US agencies if they work as researchers or managers for companies on a US Commerce Department list of entities needing higher scrutiny. Those clearances are expected to take months for each application, AP cited the official as saying.

Earlier on Tuesday, Washington said it was still considering slapping 25 per cent tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods in retaliation for what the Trump administration says are China’s unfair trade practices.