To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit the admission of Chinese nationals as nonimmigrant students, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMrs. Moody introduced the following bill; which was read twice …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Stop CCP VISAs Act prohibits all Chinese nationals from obtaining F (student), J (exchange visitor), or M (vocational student) visas to study or conduct research in the United States. This is a complete ban on Chinese students entering U.S. educational institutions, amending federal immigration law to make this nationality-based restriction permanent.
Who Benefits and How
U.S. citizen graduate students may face less competition for admissions and research positions at American universities, though this depends on whether programs maintain their current enrollment sizes. Universities could potentially recruit more students from other countries like India or South Korea to fill spots previously occupied by Chinese nationals. The national security establishment benefits from reduced concerns about potential intellectual property theft or academic espionage, though at significant cost to scientific collaboration.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Chinese nationals are completely barred from U.S. higher education, eliminating educational opportunities that currently attract hundreds of thousands of students annually. U.S. research universities lose substantial tuition revenue from Chinese students, who comprise roughly 40% of international graduate students and typically pay full tuition rates. American research laboratories, particularly in STEM fields, face increased costs and delays as they must recruit and train replacement graduate research assistants. The broader U.S. scientific enterprise loses access to a major talent pool that has contributed significantly to American research productivity and innovation.
Key Provisions
- Amends Section 214 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to add a new prohibition
- Bars Chinese nationals from F visas (academic study), J visas (exchange programs), and M visas (vocational/technical training)
- Applies to all research and educational purposes, with no exceptions for specific fields or circumstances
- Takes effect upon enactment with no transition period or grandfather clause for current students
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Prohibit Chinese nationals from receiving F, J, or M student visas to study or conduct research in the United States
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"National security measure to prevent intellectual property theft and academic espionage by restricting student visas for Chinese nationals"
Likely Beneficiaries
- U.S. universities recruiting from other countries (potential enrollment from other nations)
- U.S. citizen graduate students (reduced competition for graduate program spots)
- Non-Chinese international students (increased opportunities)
- U.S. national security apparatus
Likely Burden Bearers
- Chinese nationals seeking U.S. education
- U.S. research universities (loss of graduate student talent pool, ~40% of STEM PhDs)
- U.S. tech companies (reduced pipeline of STEM talent)
- Academic research labs (loss of research assistants)
- International education offices at U.S. universities (revenue loss from tuition)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "immigration_authorities"
- → Department of State (visa issuance), Department of Homeland Security (status determination)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A person who is a citizen or national of the PRC, as defined by existing immigration law
Student visa under section 101(a)(15)(F) of Immigration and Nationality Act - for academic study
Exchange visitor visa under section 101(a)(15)(J) of Immigration and Nationality Act - for exchange programs
Vocational student visa under section 101(a)(15)(M) of Immigration and Nationality Act - for vocational/technical study
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology