(UNITED STATES) — The White House Office of Management and Budget cleared a final Department of Homeland Security rule on June 17, 2026 that would replace the long-running flexible admission system for foreign students and exchange visitors with fixed end dates on their stay in the United States.

The rule, 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”, appears in the federal review system under RIN 1653-AA95. Its clearance by the Office of Management and Budget marks a late-stage step before publication.

At the center of the change is the end of “Duration of Status,” or D/S, the policy that has allowed many F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors to remain in the country as long as they continued to meet school or program requirements. Under the new framework, admission would instead come with a fixed expiration date on the I-94.

The Department of Homeland Security cast the proposal as an enforcement measure. In an August 27, 2025 statement linked to the proposed rule, the department said, “For too long, past Administrations have allowed foreign students and other visa holders to remain in the U.S. virtually indefinitely, posing safety risks, costing untold amount of taxpayer dollars, and disadvantaging U.S. citizens. This new rule would end that abuse once and for all by limiting the amount of time certain visa holders are allowed to remain in the U.S.”

USCIS has used similar language in a broader push to narrow status adjustments for students. Zach Kahler, USCIS Spokesperson, said on May 22, 2026, “This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes. Nonimmigrants, like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the U.S. for a short time and for a specific purpose. Our system is designed for them to leave when their visit is over.”

Most students would receive admission for no more than four years. Anyone in a program that runs longer, including many doctoral tracks, would need to ask USCIS for more time rather than continue under school-certified status.

That request would require filing Form I-539, paying a filing fee that the proposal lists as currently $470 base, and completing mandatory biometrics. The rule shifts the decision from designated school officials, who now oversee much of a student’s status compliance, to USCIS adjudicators.

Foreign students approaching graduation would also face a shorter window to make their next move. The grace period for F-1 students to leave the country or transfer programs after graduation would fall from 60 days to 30 days.

Academic choices would tighten as well. The proposal says students may be barred from changing majors or programs within their first year of study, and restrictions may apply to those seeking “parallel” degrees, such as a second master’s degree, on the same visa status.

Country-based limits are part of the rule. Students from countries with high visa overstay rates, or countries on the U.S. government’s travel restriction list, may be limited to a two-year admission period instead of four.

The policy marks a break with a system the United States has used for nearly 50 years to account for research delays, transfers and other academic changes that do not fit neatly into fixed calendars. Under D/S, schools have played the primary monitoring role through their international student offices. Under the new model, students who need more time would go back to the federal government for case-by-case approval.

That transfer of authority carries practical consequences beyond paperwork. Every student staying longer than four years would face a formal government review, including background checks and biometrics, rather than a continuation certified through school processes.

Costs are expected to rise on several fronts. The rule estimates that students and the government would bear hundreds of millions of dollars annually in filing fees and administrative processing tied to extension requests.

Timing becomes sharper too. Once the fixed I-94 date passes, a student begins accruing unlawful presence immediately, a change with direct immigration penalties because unlawful presence can trigger 3- or 10-year bans from the United States.

That change could hit students in long academic programs hardest. A PhD candidate whose research extends beyond four years would no longer rely on continued enrollment alone to stay in status; lawful presence would depend on USCIS processing an extension before the admission period runs out.

Exchange visitors in the J-1 category would face a similar structure. Fixed-term admission and biometric requirements for extensions would replace the current approach that ties many stays to ongoing program participation.

Universities would absorb a different burden. International offices that now manage status questions internally would have to prepare students for USCIS filings, deadlines and government review, while campuses also face the prospect of lower international enrollment because of added costs and legal risk.

The White House review action does not change the core substance already outlined by the Department of Homeland Security in its proposed rule. However, it does move the measure closer to publication after months of administration signals that student and temporary visa categories would face tighter controls. The rule’s review page on reginfo.gov shows the Office of Management and Budget concluded review on 06/17/2026.

The underlying proposal first appeared through a Department of Homeland Security notice published at the Federal Register. USCIS has separately published its statements through its newsroom, where the agency has framed tighter limits on student-related immigration benefits as part of a broader effort to narrow what it views as status extensions beyond a temporary visit.

What emerges from the final rule is a system with less room for delay and fewer decisions left to schools. A foreign student’s legal stay would rest on a dated admission record, a Form I-539 extension filing, biometric screening and a USCIS decision, rather than the open-ended D/S framework that has defined student status for decades.