Global media urge US to scrap visa limits for foreign journalists

Global news organizations warn the US against new I visa limits for foreign journalists, saying reduced stays threaten press freedom, weaken coverage of American politics, and damage US global credibility.

By Imran Malik, Courtesy: WAN-IFRA – September 11, 2025

Dozens of leading global news outlets and journalist organizations are calling on the United States to withdraw a controversial visa proposal that would dramatically reduce the time foreign correspondents can live and work in the country.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed cutting the I visa duration for international journalists from five years to just 240 days. Media organizations warn that the plan would destabilize reporting, limit coverage of U.S. politics and culture, and weaken Washington’s global standing.

A joint statement coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and supported by WAN-IFRA carried 116 signatories, including the BBC, Reuters, AFP, The Guardian, Associated Press, Reporters Without Borders, and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

“Restricting journalists to short-term visas risks reducing international coverage of America to shallow, fragmented stories,” the statement warned. “This would create an information vacuum that adversaries could easily exploit with disinformation.”

Press freedom advocates argue the current framework already ensures accountability, tying each visa to a specific journalist and employer. They caution that the proposed rule would disrupt families, block long-term reporting, and harm U.S. interests in projecting strength, openness, and leadership.

This is not the first time DHS has floated such changes. A nearly identical 2021 proposal was scrapped after global backlash. Advocates say the stakes in 2025 are even higher, with the U.S. heading into elections, the Olympic Games, and heightened geopolitical rivalries.

The statement concluded: “The U.S. has always stood as a beacon of openness and free press. To restrict foreign media access would emulate regimes where press freedom is under threat, damaging America’s credibility.”

The coalition reaffirmed its readiness to engage in dialogue with U.S. authorities but urged the administration to preserve the five-year I visa framework.

Here is the list of signatories:

1. 3Cat (Catalan Public Service Media)
2. Agence France Presse (AFP): Phil Chetwynd, Global News Director
3. Alianza Informative Latinoamericana: Juan Carlos Isaza, Executive Director
4. Altinget: Veslemoy Ostrem, Editor-in-Chief
5. Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU): Abdelrahim Suleiman, Director General
6. ARTE: Heike Hempel, President
7. Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU): Ahmed Nadeem, Secretary-General
8. Association of Commercial Television and VOD Services in Europe (ACT)
9. Association of European Radios (AER)
10. Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA (AFPC-USA)
11. Association of Independent Regional Press Publishers of Ukraine: Oksana Brovko, CEO
12. Association of Norwegian Editors: Reidun Kjelling Nybø, Secretary General
13. Association of Public Broadcasters in Germany (ARD): Katja Wildermuth, Director General, Bayerischer Rundfunk
14. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC): Justin Stevens, Director of News
15. Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) Roland Weissmann, Director General
16. Bloomberg News
17. Bell Media: Richard Gray, Vice-President, CTV News
18. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC): Tim Davie, Director General
19. Bulgarian National Television (BNT) Emil Koshlukov, Director General
20. Bundesverband Digitalpublisher und Zeitungsverleger: Dr. Jörg Eggers, CEO
21. Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ):  Brent Jolly, President
22. Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU)
23. CBC/Radio-Canada: Brodie Fenlon, General Manager and Editor-in-Chief, CBC News; Luce Julien, General Manager, News andCurrent Affairs, Radio Canada
24. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
25. Corporación Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE): José Pablo López Sánchez, President
26. Czech Publishers Association: Tomáš Tkačík, Chairman
27. Czech Radio: René Zavoral, Director General
28. Czech Television: Hynek Chudárek, Director General
29. Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR): Bjarne Fog Corydon, Director General
30. DeutschlandradioL Hynek Chudárek, Director General
31. Die Zeit: Giovanni di Lorenzo and Jochen Wegner, Editors-in-Chief
32. DW (Deutsche Welle): Peter Limbourg, Director General
33. Eesti Rahvusringhääling (Estonian Television): Erik Roose, Chairman and CEO
34. Estonian Association of News Media Enterprises: Väino Koorberg, CEO
35. European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA)
36. European Broadcasting Union (EBU): Delphine Ernotte Cunci, President, and Noel Curran, Director General
37. European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
38. European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) Ricardo Gutierrez, General Secretary
39. European Magazine Media Association (EMMA)
40. European News Exchange (ENEX) Adrian Wells, Managing Director
41. European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA)
42. European Publishers Council (EPC): Angela Mills Wade, Executive Director
43. Feature Story News: Simon Marks, President
44. Foreign Press Association (FPA): Ian Williams, President
45. France Médias Monde: Marie-Christine Saragosse, CEO
46. France Télévisions: Delphine Ernotte Cunci, CEO
47. Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB): Tina Berdzenishvili, Director General
48. Global News: Sonia Verma, Editor-in-Chief
49. Hungarian Publishers’ Association: Tibor Kovacs, President
50. Index on Censorship Jemimah Steinfeld, CEO
51. Inter American Press Association
52. International Federation of Journalists (IFJ): Anthony Bellanger, General Secretary
53. International Press Institute (IPI): Scott Griffen, Executive Director
54. International Publishers Association (IPA)
55. ITV: Laura Wilshaw, Editor, ITV News
56. Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association (NSK): Shiro Nakamura, Chair
57. Journalists for Human Rights: Rachel Pulfer, President
58. JP/Politikens Hus: Stig Kirk Ørskov, CEO
59. Korean Association of Newspapers: Chai Chung, Lim, President
60. La Presse: Francois Cardinal, VP-Deputy Publisher
61. La Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française (RTBF): Jean Paul Philippot, Director General
62. Latvian Publishers Association: Maris Ancs, Chair of the Board
63. Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT): Monika Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė, Director General
64. Luxembourg Association of News Media (ALMI): Paul Peckels, President
65. Media For Europe (MFE)
66. Neue Zürcher Zeitung: Dr. Felix Graf, CEO, and Simon Jakob, Senior Legal Counsel
67. News Media Canada: Paul Deegan, President and CEO
68. News Media Europe: Wout van Wijk, Editor-in-Chief
69. North American Broadcasters Association (NABA): Rebecca Hanson, Director General
70. Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK): Vibeke Furst Haugen, Director General, and Sigurd Falkenberg Mikkelsen, Editor of Foreign Affairs
71. Norwegian Union of Journalists: Dag Idar Tryggestad, President
72. NOS (Dutch Public Broadcaster for News): Renate Eringa, General Manager
73. NPO (Dutch Public Broadcaster): Lucien Brouwer, Board of Directors
74. Organización Editorial Mexicana (OEM): Martha Ramos, Chief Editorial Officer
75. Pacific Media Network (PMN): Don Mann, CEO, Pacific Media Network
76. Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG): David Tamakloe, President
77. Project Kontinuum Branko Brkic, Leader
78. Public Media Alliance (PMA)
79. Public Television Company of Armenia
80. Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP): Nicolau Santos, President
81. Radio France: Sibyle Veil, President and Director General
82. Radio New Zealand (RNZ)
83. Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI): Giampaolo Rossi, CEO
84. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: Bruce D. Brown, President
85. Reporters Without Borders (RSF): Thibaut Bruttin, Director General
86. Reuters
87. Ringier Hungary: Tibor Kovacs, CEO
88. Ringier Media: Dmitry Shishkin, Strategic Editorial Advisor
89. Rory Peck Trust: Jon Williams, Executive Director
90. RTCG: Boris Raonić, Director General
91. RTÉ: Kevin Bakhurst, Director General
92. RTV Slovenia: Natalija Gorščak, President of the Management Board
93. RÚV: Stefán Eiríksson, Director General
94. Sky News: Tim Singleton, Head of International News
95. SRG SSR: Susanne Wille, Director General
96. Star Media Group: Esther Ng, Chief Content Officer
97. Süddeutsche Zeitung: Wolfgang Krach, CEO
98. Suspilne Ukraine: Mykola Chernotytskyi, Head of the Managing Board
99. Sveriges Radio / Swedish Radio: Cilla Benkö, Director General
100. SVT (Swedish Television): Anne Lagercrantz, CEO
101. The Associated Press (AP): Paul Haven, VP Head of Global News Gathering
102. The Financial Times: Brooke Masters, US Managing Editor
103. The Globe and Mail: Andrew Saunders, CEO and President
104. The Guardian: Katharine Viner, Editor-in-Chief
105. The Irish Times: Deirdre Veldon, Group Managing Director
106. Tidningsutgivarna, Swedish Newspaper Publishers Association: Johan Taubert, CEO
107. Ukrainian Media Business Association: Oleksii Pogorelov, President
108. United Daily News: George K. Shuang, Managing Director
109. Utbildningsradion (UR): Kalle Sandhammar, CEO
110. VAUNET – German Association of Private Media
111. Verlegerverband Schweizer Medien (Swiss Publishers Association): Andrea Masüger, President
112. Vocento: Fernando Belzunce, Executive Editorial Director
113. World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA): Ladina Heimgartner, President, and Vincent Peyregne, CEO
114. World Editors Forum: David Walmsley, President
115. Yleisradio Oy (YLE): Merja Ylä-Anttila, CEO
116. ZDF Norbert Himmler, Director General

Global news organizations warn the US against new I visa limits for foreign journalists, saying reduced stays threaten press freedom, weaken coverage of American politics, and damage US global credibility.

By Imran Malik, Courtesy: WAN-IFRA – September 11, 2025

Dozens of leading global news outlets and journalist organizations are calling on the United States to withdraw a controversial visa proposal that would dramatically reduce the time foreign correspondents can live and work in the country.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed cutting the I visa duration for international journalists from five years to just 240 days. Media organizations warn that the plan would destabilize reporting, limit coverage of U.S. politics and culture, and weaken Washington’s global standing.

A joint statement coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and supported by WAN-IFRA carried 116 signatories, including the BBC, Reuters, AFP, The Guardian, Associated Press, Reporters Without Borders, and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

“Restricting journalists to short-term visas risks reducing international coverage of America to shallow, fragmented stories,” the statement warned. “This would create an information vacuum that adversaries could easily exploit with disinformation.”

Press freedom advocates argue the current framework already ensures accountability, tying each visa to a specific journalist and employer. They caution that the proposed rule would disrupt families, block long-term reporting, and harm U.S. interests in projecting strength, openness, and leadership.

This is not the first time DHS has floated such changes. A nearly identical 2021 proposal was scrapped after global backlash. Advocates say the stakes in 2025 are even higher, with the U.S. heading into elections, the Olympic Games, and heightened geopolitical rivalries.

The statement concluded: “The U.S. has always stood as a beacon of openness and free press. To restrict foreign media access would emulate regimes where press freedom is under threat, damaging America’s credibility.”

The coalition reaffirmed its readiness to engage in dialogue with U.S. authorities but urged the administration to preserve the five-year I visa framework.

Here is the list of signatories:

1. 3Cat (Catalan Public Service Media)
2. Agence France Presse (AFP): Phil Chetwynd, Global News Director
3. Alianza Informative Latinoamericana: Juan Carlos Isaza, Executive Director
4. Altinget: Veslemoy Ostrem, Editor-in-Chief
5. Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU): Abdelrahim Suleiman, Director General
6. ARTE: Heike Hempel, President
7. Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU): Ahmed Nadeem, Secretary-General
8. Association of Commercial Television and VOD Services in Europe (ACT)
9. Association of European Radios (AER)
10. Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA (AFPC-USA)
11. Association of Independent Regional Press Publishers of Ukraine: Oksana Brovko, CEO
12. Association of Norwegian Editors: Reidun Kjelling Nybø, Secretary General
13. Association of Public Broadcasters in Germany (ARD): Katja Wildermuth, Director General, Bayerischer Rundfunk
14. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC): Justin Stevens, Director of News
15. Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) Roland Weissmann, Director General
16. Bloomberg News
17. Bell Media: Richard Gray, Vice-President, CTV News
18. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC): Tim Davie, Director General
19. Bulgarian National Television (BNT) Emil Koshlukov, Director General
20. Bundesverband Digitalpublisher und Zeitungsverleger: Dr. Jörg Eggers, CEO
21. Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ):  Brent Jolly, President
22. Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU)
23. CBC/Radio-Canada: Brodie Fenlon, General Manager and Editor-in-Chief, CBC News; Luce Julien, General Manager, News andCurrent Affairs, Radio Canada
24. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
25. Corporación Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE): José Pablo López Sánchez, President
26. Czech Publishers Association: Tomáš Tkačík, Chairman
27. Czech Radio: René Zavoral, Director General
28. Czech Television: Hynek Chudárek, Director General
29. Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR): Bjarne Fog Corydon, Director General
30. DeutschlandradioL Hynek Chudárek, Director General
31. Die Zeit: Giovanni di Lorenzo and Jochen Wegner, Editors-in-Chief
32. DW (Deutsche Welle): Peter Limbourg, Director General
33. Eesti Rahvusringhääling (Estonian Television): Erik Roose, Chairman and CEO
34. Estonian Association of News Media Enterprises: Väino Koorberg, CEO
35. European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA)
36. European Broadcasting Union (EBU): Delphine Ernotte Cunci, President, and Noel Curran, Director General
37. European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
38. European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) Ricardo Gutierrez, General Secretary
39. European Magazine Media Association (EMMA)
40. European News Exchange (ENEX) Adrian Wells, Managing Director
41. European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA)
42. European Publishers Council (EPC): Angela Mills Wade, Executive Director
43. Feature Story News: Simon Marks, President
44. Foreign Press Association (FPA): Ian Williams, President
45. France Médias Monde: Marie-Christine Saragosse, CEO
46. France Télévisions: Delphine Ernotte Cunci, CEO
47. Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB): Tina Berdzenishvili, Director General
48. Global News: Sonia Verma, Editor-in-Chief
49. Hungarian Publishers’ Association: Tibor Kovacs, President
50. Index on Censorship Jemimah Steinfeld, CEO
51. Inter American Press Association
52. International Federation of Journalists (IFJ): Anthony Bellanger, General Secretary
53. International Press Institute (IPI): Scott Griffen, Executive Director
54. International Publishers Association (IPA)
55. ITV: Laura Wilshaw, Editor, ITV News
56. Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association (NSK): Shiro Nakamura, Chair
57. Journalists for Human Rights: Rachel Pulfer, President
58. JP/Politikens Hus: Stig Kirk Ørskov, CEO
59. Korean Association of Newspapers: Chai Chung, Lim, President
60. La Presse: Francois Cardinal, VP-Deputy Publisher
61. La Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française (RTBF): Jean Paul Philippot, Director General
62. Latvian Publishers Association: Maris Ancs, Chair of the Board
63. Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT): Monika Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė, Director General
64. Luxembourg Association of News Media (ALMI): Paul Peckels, President
65. Media For Europe (MFE)
66. Neue Zürcher Zeitung: Dr. Felix Graf, CEO, and Simon Jakob, Senior Legal Counsel
67. News Media Canada: Paul Deegan, President and CEO
68. News Media Europe: Wout van Wijk, Editor-in-Chief
69. North American Broadcasters Association (NABA): Rebecca Hanson, Director General
70. Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK): Vibeke Furst Haugen, Director General, and Sigurd Falkenberg Mikkelsen, Editor of Foreign Affairs
71. Norwegian Union of Journalists: Dag Idar Tryggestad, President
72. NOS (Dutch Public Broadcaster for News): Renate Eringa, General Manager
73. NPO (Dutch Public Broadcaster): Lucien Brouwer, Board of Directors
74. Organización Editorial Mexicana (OEM): Martha Ramos, Chief Editorial Officer
75. Pacific Media Network (PMN): Don Mann, CEO, Pacific Media Network
76. Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG): David Tamakloe, President
77. Project Kontinuum Branko Brkic, Leader
78. Public Media Alliance (PMA)
79. Public Television Company of Armenia
80. Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP): Nicolau Santos, President
81. Radio France: Sibyle Veil, President and Director General
82. Radio New Zealand (RNZ)
83. Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI): Giampaolo Rossi, CEO
84. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: Bruce D. Brown, President
85. Reporters Without Borders (RSF): Thibaut Bruttin, Director General
86. Reuters
87. Ringier Hungary: Tibor Kovacs, CEO
88. Ringier Media: Dmitry Shishkin, Strategic Editorial Advisor
89. Rory Peck Trust: Jon Williams, Executive Director
90. RTCG: Boris Raonić, Director General
91. RTÉ: Kevin Bakhurst, Director General
92. RTV Slovenia: Natalija Gorščak, President of the Management Board
93. RÚV: Stefán Eiríksson, Director General
94. Sky News: Tim Singleton, Head of International News
95. SRG SSR: Susanne Wille, Director General
96. Star Media Group: Esther Ng, Chief Content Officer
97. Süddeutsche Zeitung: Wolfgang Krach, CEO
98. Suspilne Ukraine: Mykola Chernotytskyi, Head of the Managing Board
99. Sveriges Radio / Swedish Radio: Cilla Benkö, Director General
100. SVT (Swedish Television): Anne Lagercrantz, CEO
101. The Associated Press (AP): Paul Haven, VP Head of Global News Gathering
102. The Financial Times: Brooke Masters, US Managing Editor
103. The Globe and Mail: Andrew Saunders, CEO and President
104. The Guardian: Katharine Viner, Editor-in-Chief
105. The Irish Times: Deirdre Veldon, Group Managing Director
106. Tidningsutgivarna, Swedish Newspaper Publishers Association: Johan Taubert, CEO
107. Ukrainian Media Business Association: Oleksii Pogorelov, President
108. United Daily News: George K. Shuang, Managing Director
109. Utbildningsradion (UR): Kalle Sandhammar, CEO
110. VAUNET – German Association of Private Media
111. Verlegerverband Schweizer Medien (Swiss Publishers Association): Andrea Masüger, President
112. Vocento: Fernando Belzunce, Executive Editorial Director
113. World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA): Ladina Heimgartner, President, and Vincent Peyregne, CEO
114. World Editors Forum: David Walmsley, President
115. Yleisradio Oy (YLE): Merja Ylä-Anttila, CEO
116. ZDF Norbert Himmler, Director General