Republican lawmakers pushing legislation to ban Chinese nationals from getting US student visas: Report
March 13, 2025
International Enrollment’s Precarious Moment
March 19, 2025
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Riley M. Moore has just introduced new, groundbreaking legislation to halt the issuance of student visas to Chinese nationals. The Stop Chinese Communist Prying by Vindicating Intellectual Safeguards in Academia Act (Stop CCP VISAs Act) comes on the heels of several cases where Chinese students have been caught spying on the U.S. military or stealing advanced technology from American companies. Rep. Moore first raised concern about this issue in an op-ed in Newsweek in February.
Five House lawmakers joined Rep. Moore in co-sponsoring the legislation: Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX); Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA); Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX); Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN); and Rep. Addison McDowell (R-NC). In addition, Senator Ashley Moody (R-FL) is expected to introduce companion legislation in the Senate.
Congressman Moore issued the following statement:
“Every year we allow nearly 300,000 Chinese nationals to come to the U.S. on student visas. We’ve literally invited the CCP to spy on our military, steal our intellectual property, and threaten national security. Just last year, the FBI charged five Chinese nationals here on student visas after they were caught photographing joint US-Taiwan live fire military exercises. This cannot continue.
“Congress needs to end China’s exploitation of our student visa program. It’s time we turn off the spigot and immediately ban all student visas going to Chinese nationals.”
Here’s what others are saying:
“For decades, the failed post-Cold War consensus assumed China would democratize and liberalize if we welcomed them into our markets, media, and universities. Instead, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took advantage of Americans’ goodwill and subversively exported agents to our shores to spy, oppress dissidents and enemies of the state, and steal publicly funded research and intellectual property to the tune of billions of dollars,” said Senator Ashley Moody. “Now, by law, nationals of the PRC are forced to engage in intelligence gathering and espionage, and those who refuse face retaliation and persecution against themselves and family members. It is unfortunate that the CCP’s draconian national security law requires us to take such drastic measures, but the risk of allowing this to continue unabated is too great to ignore.”
“The Chinese Communist Party is fundamentally opposed to our American values, and yet we have handed out hundreds of thousands of student visas to Chinese nationals, many of whom are state-sponsored spies,” said Congressman Brandon Gill (R-Texas). “I fully back Congressman Riley Moore’s Stop CCP VISAs Act, and I am proud to be a cosponsor.”
“Allowing 300,000 Chinese nationals to infiltrate American academic institutions while the CCP attempts to undermine our national security is a threat and makes ZERO sense,” said Congressman Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania).
“It’s clear China is taking advantage of these visas to spy on our military, steal American research, and infiltrate our schools. Enough is enough,” said Congressman Addison McDowell (R-North Carolina). “The Stop CCP VISAs Act closes the loopholes on this national security threat and puts America first. I’m proud to co-sponsor this bill. Let’s get it done.”
There have been several documented cases from recent years that underscore the vital importance of this legislation:
- In Michigan, 5 students were recently charged after being caught photographing U.S. and Taiwanese troops conducting live fire exercises.
- In Newport News, Virginia (where the U.S. Navy has a massive presence), a Chinese national was convicted after flying a drone with a camera over a naval shipyard. He was a student at the University of Minnesota.
- In Chicago, a Chinese national who first came to the U.S. on a student visa was convicted after being tasked by the CCP to recruit spies to steal advanced technology.
