Breaking: US Department of Homeland Security publishes rule to end Duration of Status for international students

As expected by US international education experts, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made only minor revisions to its August 2025 proposal to end Duration of Status (D/S) for F and J students and their dependants despite vigorous lobbying across scientific, business, and higher education sectors. The government will publish the final rule on 17 July, and the rule is expected to go into effect 60 days later on 15 September 2026.

Duration of Status will be replaced with fixed periods of stay for F and J students – four years – unless students are in language programmes, the admission duration for which will be maxed at 24 months. (For detailed background on the policy, please refer to our earlier reporting.)

To stay in the US for longer than the end date marked on their I-94 form, international students need to apply and be approved for an extension by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If they do not receive that extension, they will have to leave the US or be identified as unlawful and subject to a three-to-ten-year ban on re-entering the US.

There is no grace period for four-year F and J students after an extension of status denial at the end of the initial admission period: students and any dependents who may have come to the US with them are required to depart immediately. If not, the next day marks the official beginning of their unlawful presence in the US.

Commenting on the new rule, NAFSA Executive Director and CEO Dr Fanta Aw said:

“DHS’s decision to end Duration of Status is a misguided and unnecessary policy shift that injects uncertainty, bureaucracy, and fear into a system that has long worked effectively. It is a solution in search of a problem. International students and exchange visitors are already the most monitored nonimmigrant populations in the United States. SEVIS and the partnership between institutions and the federal government already provide a rigorous and highly effective system of oversight, compliance, and accountability.

“This rule introduces unnecessary government intrusion into academic decision-making. Requiring students and scholars to seek approval to extend their academic program, change majors, or pursue the next level of study places life-changing educational decisions in the hands of an already overburdened immigration system rather than educators and institutions.

“At a time when global competition for talent is intensifying, this policy sends exactly the wrong message. It tells the world’s brightest students and scholars that the United States is becoming less welcoming, less predictable, and less committed. This is not just bad for higher education, it is bad for American innovation, economic growth, workforce development, and global leadership.”

What will the new rule mean for universities, agents, and students?

Universities and agents: The incoming rule will raise many questions for educators and agents who will be pressed to advise students properly. NAFSA explains:

“There are transition provisions for F and J nonimmigrants who were admitted for D/S on their Form I-94 and are inside the United States on September 15, 2026, the final rule effective date. These individuals will not have to immediately apply for a date-certain I-94, but they must still apply for an extension of stay in order to remain in status beyond the program end date on their current Form I-20 or DS-2019, or four years from the final rule effective date, whichever is shorter, and will also be subject to the new academic restrictions in varied ways. If someone in this transition group exits the United States and reenters on or after September 15, 2026, CBP will readmit them with a Form I-94 with a date-specific AUD.”

New international students who had planned to begin programmes this fall may now decide not to. Two segments are at particular risk of reconsidering their decision to study in the US:

• Those for whom the opportunity to pursue Optional Practical training (OPT) after their studies was central to their decision to choose the US as a destination. They now know that the maximum period of admission on an F or J visa is about to be four years, which means they would need to apply for an extension to go on to OPT – an extension that might be rejected.
• Graduate-level students, who will realise that four years may not even cover the length of their programme, let alone OPT.

The OPT and STEM OPT post-study work streams are vital to US institutions’ ability to compete for international students (especially those in STEM and at the graduate level). A 2025 survey conducted by NAFSA and the Institute for Progress found that 54% of current international students would not have chosen the US if there was no OPT option.

Current international students: Current F and J students will live in a climate of uncertainty: many will be required to apply for a visa extension before graduation, knowing that they could be denied that extension. This would mean that their studies in the US would be over the day after they were refused an extension. They would not be able to finish their degree in the US.

Additional components of the new rule bar F and J students from changing academic programmes, and graduates who complete one academic programme will only be able to enrol in a new one if it is at a higher educational level.

What is the context for the introduction of fixed admission periods?

At present, USCIS’s processing of immigration requests has never been more backlogged. Adding international students’ requests for extensions to the backlog will only worsen the situation. Many students will face a long wait to see if their extension is approved. 


 
The granting of extensions will be in the hands of immigration officials at a time when the US government is eager to reduce the flow of foreigners into the country.
 
For additional background, please see:

• “US to end ‘Duration of Status’ for F, J, and I visas and limit the time international students can study in the US”