DHS Final Rule Eliminates Duration of Status for F-1 and J-1 Nonimmigrant Students

The Department of Homeland Security will end Duration of Status admissions for F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors, replacing them with fixed stays tied to program dates and capped at 4 years.

DHS announced the final rule on July 16, 2026. It is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on July 17 and will take effect September 15, 2026, 60 days later.

The new system gives F-1 and J-1 nonimmigrants a date-certain admission ending no later than their program end date. They also receive an additional 30 days to leave the United States.

The rule changes more than the admission date. It also shortens the F-1 post-completion grace period, limits school and education-level changes, and requires formal extension filings for some students and their dependents.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the existing framework had allowed students to remain in the country through repeated enrollment.

“For nearly half a century, the outdated 'duration of status' system has compromised national security and created an environment ripe for immigration fraud. For decades, foreign students have been admitted into the U.S. indefinitely, allowing thousands to abuse our immigration system by perpetually enrolling in courses to avoid having to leave the U.S.”

Mullin said the fixed-term approach would allow the government to conduct more regular screening and monitoring.

“By implementing clear, finite limits on these visas, the United States is reclaiming its ability to properly screen, vet, and monitor individuals within our borders. This final rule ensures that foreign students remain focused on their primary purpose: completing their studies and returning home.”

Existing students receive a four-year transition period

Students already in the United States when the rule takes effect do not need to correct or update their current I-94. Their authorized stay will end on the earlier of their program end date or four years after the effective date.

That transition period runs approximately until September 15, 2030. A student who leaves the United States after the rule takes effect will receive a new date-certain admission record upon returning.

The rule also creates a temporary bridge for students applying for post-completion work authorization. Anyone filing Form I-765 for OPT must also file Form I-539 to extend status, but a six-month period after the rule becomes effective gives students with pending or newly filed work-authorization applications time to proceed without submitting the extension form.

After that six-month period, the additional filing requirement applies to those seeking the work benefit. Students who need more than four years to finish a degree, including some PhD candidates, must also use the formal extension process.

F-2 and J-2 family members must follow the principal’s timeline

The rule ties every dependent’s stay to the F-1 or J-1 principal. A dependent cannot remain beyond the principal’s authorized period, even if the dependent’s own admission record shows a later date.

F-2 and J-2 dependents must file an extension of stay when the principal files. If officials deny the principal’s extension, the dependents must leave as well.

The same result applies when the principal’s authorized stay is shortened. Family members must depart with the principal, regardless of any longer period previously recorded for them.

Students face tighter limits on changing schools and programs

The final rule restricts educational changes that previously could extend or redirect a student’s stay. A student who wants to change schools or educational objectives generally must complete the first year at the school listed on the initial Form I-20.

The Student and Exchange Visitor Program, or SEVP, can authorize an exception. The exception must come from the program rather than from a student’s unilateral decision to move earlier.

Graduate students face additional limits. Students at the graduate level or above generally cannot move to a lower educational level, and they cannot transfer or change to the same level unless SEVP authorizes an exception for extenuating circumstances.

A student who completes a program can move only to a higher educational level. The rule bars a change to the same or a lower level.

Program extensions also face a narrower standard. Delays caused by academic probation, suspension, or repeated inability or unwillingness to complete studies generally do not qualify as acceptable reasons for extending the program.

English-language students now face a total limit of 24 months of English-language study. The cap applies across their English-language studies rather than resetting with each enrollment.

The departure window is cut in half after completion

F-1 students who finish their program or authorized practical training will have 30 days to depart, down from 60 days under the prior rule.

The shortened period applies after program completion and after the completion of authorized practical training. It also gives students less time to arrange a transfer, pursue a higher educational level, or prepare to leave.

The fixed-term rule covers J-1 exchange visitors as well as F-1 students. The DHS rule also addresses I-visa representatives of foreign information media, although the transition and academic restrictions described here concern the student and exchange-visitor categories.

Extension filings bring formal review into longer stays

The new procedure shifts longer stays into an extension-of-status process administered through USCIS. Students who need additional time beyond the fixed admission period must file Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status.

That process includes biometric vetting and background checks. A student’s continued presence therefore depends on an approved extension when the original fixed period does not cover the remaining program time.

The same filing framework reaches dependents. Their applications track the principal’s request and cannot preserve a longer stay after the principal loses authorization.

The rule is titled “Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media.” DHS assigned it Docket No. ICEB-2025-0001.

Educational associations NAFSA and the Presidents’ Alliance criticized the policy, saying it “injects uncertainty, bureaucracy, and fear” into U.S. higher education and could deter global talent.

The department presented the rule as a response to what Mullin called “forever students.” The first admissions under the new framework will follow the September 15 effective date, while current students move through the transition rules until their program end date or the four-year limit arrives.