Science Policy This Week: July 6, 2026

What’s Ahead

A USCIS sign in front of an office — A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Georgia.

Gulbenk / CC BY-SA 3.0

International students limited to four years of study in the US

Starting in September, the U.S. will admit student visa holders for a fixed period of time according to the length of their program, which cannot exceed four years. This process replaces the “duration of status” (D/S) system that previously allowed student visa holders to remain in the U.S. for the duration of their time as a student. The rule also adds restrictions on when and how visa holders can change their majors or programs.

The final rule published on July 17 by the Department of Homeland Security came after an almost year-long period of uncertainty after DHS proposed ending D/S for international students in August 2025. Going forward, if a student needs more than four years to finish their program, they must now apply through an immigration officer to stay beyond their originally approved “admit until” date or leave the country and apply for an entirely new visa. An AIP report last year found that more than 95% of non-citizen physics and astronomy PhD students took more than four years to complete their programs. The rule goes into effect on Sept. 15. Students who are in the middle of their degree will be able to remain in the country until their program end date, provided that date is not later than Nov. 14, 2030. Otherwise, existing visa holders will need to apply for an extension of stay. The rule also reduces the amount of time visa holders have to leave the country once their program ends from two months to one. DHS says the new rule will protect national security and improve federal oversight of higher education.

Science agencies under pressure to restrict research ties with China

The House CCP Committee pressed federal science agencies to adopt a uniform policy limiting research collaboration with China during a July 15 hearing on protecting federally funded research. Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) argued that agencies should prohibit the use of federal research dollars for collaborations with organizations on U.S. government restricted-entity lists. Democrats on the committee agreed with Republicans on the need to protect U.S. research from China, but argued that the Trump administration’s cuts to science agencies have weakened that effort. Ranking Member Ro Khanna (D-CA) highlighted that staffing in the National Science Foundation’s research security office has fallen from ten staff members to five since the end of 2024.

The hearing came just a few days after NSF announced plans to introduce a policy prohibiting the use of agency funds for research in collaboration with entities that the Department of Defense and other agencies have flagged as national security risks — including Chinese companies such as telecommunications giant Huawei and some Chinese universities. NSF plans for the policy to take effect in fiscal year 2027, alongside its new financial assistance guidance.

“What the Pentagon, NSF, and NASA have done should be the standard across the federal government, which is why I, along with Senator Jim Banks, introduced the Securing Innovation and Research from Adversaries Act,” Moolenaar said in his opening statement. During the hearing, representatives from the Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health said they were reviewing similar approaches to NSF, but currently rely on risk-based assessments rather than categorical bans.

Moolenaar and other Republicans on the committee called for greater consistency across agencies, and House Science Committee Chairman Brian Babin (R-TX) issued a statement saying that protecting federally funded research “should not depend on which agency an institution works with.”

Industry leaders call for US AI standards body

Last week, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis joined the heads of OpenAI and Anthropic in calling for a U.S. AI standards body to test cutting-edge models before they are released. Hassabis proposed a federally overseen public-private partnership or a self-regulatory organization that would work with federal agencies and national labs to conduct testing related to national security. He plans to meet with policymakers to discuss the proposal this week, according to Bloomberg. Earlier this month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman proposed a U.S.-led international forum, while Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has argued in favor of a federal agency or a set of private organizations. Recent OpenAI and Anthropic models have undergone review processes from the federal government, including by the Center for AI Standards and Innovation at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, before release. Meanwhile, 29 countries, not including the U.S., signed an agreement last week to establish the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, which will be headquartered in China.

Also on our radar

Nature reported that NSF plans to redirect $500 million meant for research grants in engineering, computer science, math, and physical sciences to an unnamed OSTP initiative.
The National Academies issued its report on the state of attribution science, which assesses the extent to which climate change influences an individual weather or climate event. The committee that authored the report has faced scrutiny from House Science Republicans and other conservatives — a move which top House Science Committee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) has criticized.
Senate Democrats blocked a motion to advance the annual National Defense Authorization Act last Tuesday, citing budget and Iran war concerns.
Tennessee announced it would provide up to $3 million to NSF X-Labs quantum teams that choose to establish operations and commercialize their technologies in the state.
The top Democratic appropriators overseeing DOE demanded the agency stop its plan to use carbon capture funds for coal plants.
GAO issued recommendations for NNSA to keep up with its science, technology, and engineering plan for the next 20 years, including by analyzing workforce, programmatic, and facility needs.
The U.S. and Russia agreed to extend their joint operation of the International Space Station through 2030. Command of the ISS will change hands from Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov to NASA astronaut Jessica Meir on Saturday.

Monday, July 20

National Academies: Organizing mathematical knowledge in the age of AI and formalization (continues Tuesday)

House: Markup of multiple bills, including the Coordinating and Harnessing America’s Recovery of Minerals (CHARM) Act
5:00 pm, Energy and Commerce Committee

Tuesday, July 21

NASA: Exploration Science Forum 2026 (continues through Thursday)

SCSP: AI+ Discovery Summit
9:30 am - 6:00 pm

National Academies: Report discussion: A Vision for the Manufacturing USA Program in 2030 and 2035
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Senate: Measuring what matters: Science, standards, and strategic competition
10:30 am, Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee

Wednesday, July 22

DOE: Genesis Mission Summit
9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Senate: Meeting to consider multiple nominations, including Hal Duncan to be deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget
9:30 am, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

CSIS: Is the US winning the fusion race?
10:00 - 10:45 am

House: Funding lapses: Analyzing shutdown reform
10:00 am, Appropriations Committee

House: Unleashing the Golden Age of science: Examining the priorities of the FY2027 research and technology landscape
10:15 am, Science, Space, and Technology Committee

Senate: Markup of multiple bills, including the Hurricane Hunter Aircraft Recapitalization Act
10:30 am, Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee

ESEP: Science policy happy hour
5:00 - 7:00 pm

Opportunities

Deadlines indicated in parentheses. Newly added opportunities are marked with a diamond.

Job Openings

AIP: Director of social science research (ongoing)
FIA: Fall intern (ongoing)
ACS: Congressional fellowship (ongoing)
◆NASA: Deputy manager, Artemis Program (July 21)
◆NASA: Research strategy and security officer (July 22)
◆DOE: Executive officer, Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence (July 24)
◆NOAA: Director, Acquisition and Grants Office (July 27)
◆NOAA: Deputy chief financial officer (July 28)
◆DOE: Chief operating officer, Office of Nuclear Energy (July 29)
NASA: Director, Planetary Science Division (July 30)

Solicitations

Physics Today: Reader information survey (ongoing)
◆NIST: Request for nominations for members to serve on NIST federal advisory committees (ongoing)
NASA: RFI on astronaut candidate selection qualifications (July 30)
NIST: Request for letters of interest to join the NIST AI Consortium (July 31)
OPM: RFC on employee accountability proposed rule (Aug. 3)
NIH: RFI on capping the number of simultaneous research project grants per principal investigator (Aug. 3)
◆NSF: RFC on Do Not Pay matching program for identifying and preventing improper payments (Aug. 12)
FAR Council: RFI on “Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 1, 2, 4, 33, 40, and 53” (Aug. 24)
NSF: RFC on NSF Guidance on Financial Assistance (Aug. 24)
National Academies: RFI on Earth Science and Applications from Space 2028-2037 decadal survey (Aug. 24)

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