DHS Ends 'Duration of Status' for F, J, I Visas: 2026 Guide

DHS tried to do this exact thing once before, in 2020. It got withdrawn in 2021 before it ever took effect. Six years later, the same core idea just cleared 22,000 public comments and became a final, binding rule, and this time it's set to reshape how roughly 2.4 million people a year live, study, and work in the United States. Here's what actually changed, verified directly against the 156-page Federal Register text.

Agencies: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Action: Final rule (not a proposal — this has cleared the comment period and been finalized)

Regulation: RIN 1653–AA95, DHS Docket No. ICEB–2025–0001, amending 8 CFR Parts 214, 248, and 274a

Published: July 17, 2026, Federal Register Vol. 91, No. 136

Classification: A "major rule" subject to Congressional Review Act oversight

Effective date: September 15, 2026 — 60 days after publication

What it does: Eliminates "Duration of Status" (D/S) admission for F (academic students), J (exchange visitors), and I (foreign media representatives) nonimmigrants, replacing it with a fixed admission period tied to a specific end date

Scale: An estimated 7,744 U.S. entities directly affected (6,541 SEVP-certified schools, 1,203 J exchange visitor sponsors); roughly 1.8 million F-1 students, over 500,000 J-1 exchange visitors, and 37,330 I nonimmigrants were admitted in FY2024 alone

Projected cost: $443.1–$448.6 million annualized across all parties over the 10-year analysis window; $119.9–$125.1 million annualized for U.S. parties specifically

Since 1978 for F students and 1985 for J and I nonimmigrants, these three visa categories have been unusual among nonimmigrant classifications: instead of being admitted until a specific calendar date, they were admitted for "duration of status" — however long it took to finish their program, plus a short authorized departure window. No fixed exit date meant no built-in checkpoint where an immigration officer had to look at the file again.

DHS's own numbers are the centerpiece of its case for why that became a problem. F-1 admissions hit over 1.8 million in FY2024 — an 11% jump from FY2023 alone, and roughly seven times the ~260,000 admissions recorded in the 1980–81 school year when D/S first began. J-1 admissions passed 500,000 in FY2024, up over 300% since 1985. And in an internal review, DHS identified more than 2,100 people who first entered as F-1 students between 2000 and 2010 and were still in active F-1 status as of April 2025 — a quarter-century later, with no fixed date ever forcing a fresh look at the case.

Why it matters: this isn't a rule reacting to a single scandal. It's DHS arguing that an open-ended admission structure, at a scale seven times larger than when it was designed, has become structurally hard to police — and that a fixed end date restores the periodic checkpoint that D/S removed.

What the Final Rule Actually Changes

For F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors: Admission and extensions are now capped at the length of the academic or exchange program, not to exceed 4 years total, plus an additional 30 days to depart the U.S. or take another lawful action. Previously, under D/S, this end date simply didn't exist.

For I nonimmigrants (foreign media representatives): Admission is granted for the time needed to complete the specific assignment, capped at 240 days — shortened to 90 days for anyone holding a passport from the People's Republic of China (Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR passport holders are exempted from the shorter window and get the standard 240 days).

The departure-preparation window is being cut in half. F-1 nonimmigrants now have 30 days (down from 60) to prepare to leave the U.S. after completing either a course of study or an authorized period of post-completion practical training (OPT).

Extensions now require an active application, not a passive continuation. Anyone in F, J, or I status who needs more time must file an Extension of Stay (EOS) application directly with USCIS — including submitting biometric information — rather than simply continuing to hold status by virtue of still being enrolled.

Academic mobility gets sharply restricted at the graduate level. F-1 students at the graduate level or above are now prohibited from changing their educational objective or transferring schools at any point during their program, absent an SEVP-authorized exception for extenuating circumstances. Undergraduate-level students face a lighter version of the same restriction: they must complete their first academic year at the school that issued their original Form I-20 before transferring.

Language-training students face a hard cap. Students in English-language or other language-training programs are now limited to an aggregate 24-month period of stay, inclusive of breaks and an annual vacation.

A built-in six-month reprieve softens the initial landing. Anyone approved for post-completion OPT or STEM OPT on or before March 18, 2027 will not be required to file a separate EOS application for that period — a deliberate cushion DHS added specifically to avoid overwhelming USCIS and applicants in the rule's first months.

Working while an extension is pending gets more restrictive for most F-1 students, not less. While an EOS application is pending, F-1 students remain authorized to keep studying, but are prohibited from starting new employment — including a new internship, pre-completion OPT, or post-completion OPT — until both the EOS and any employment-authorization application are approved. The one exception: F-1 students who are already authorized for on-campus CPT or working under an existing severe-economic-hardship EAD get that authorization automatically extended for up to 240 days while their EOS is pending. J-1 exchange visitors get a broader benefit — up to 240 days of continued employment while an EOS is pending, full stop. I nonimmigrants get the same 240-day (or 90-day, for PRC passport holders) protection for continuing to work for their foreign employer. And J-2 dependents get the thinnest protection of all — because they work under an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) rather than status-based authorization, their work authorization simply ends when the EAD expires, with no automatic extension, even if their own or their principal J-1's EOS is still pending.

DHS built in a phased, multi-year runway rather than flipping a switch on the effective date:

Why it matters: DHS is explicit that this transition alone will take roughly four years to fully play out, since anyone currently mid-program gets to finish under D/S rather than being cut off mid-degree — but every one of those students will eventually hit a fixed end date and have to actively engage with USCIS to stay, which almost none of them have ever had to do before.

The Compliance Timeline

Note: because this is classified as a "major rule," it's subject to Congressional Review Act oversight. If that review changes the effective date, DHS has committed to publishing a separate Federal Register notice reflecting the actual date — so September 15, 2026 should be treated as the current, but not absolutely final, effective date.

DHS's own Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis puts real numbers on the compliance burden:

• 7,744 U.S. entities are directly affected: 6,541 SEVP-certified schools and 1,203 J exchange visitor program sponsors

• 78% of those schools and 62% of those exchange sponsors qualify as small entities under federal rules

• Each Designated School Official (DSO) or Responsible Officer (RO) will need roughly 135 hours for initial rule familiarization in year one, at an estimated cost of $6,735 per DSO

• Ongoing, DSOs/ROs will spend approximately 3 hours per F-1/J-1 EOS request, at an estimated cost of $233 per request to the institution — plus a separate, institution-side one-time compliance cost DHS calculates at roughly $50 per existing F-1 student (not a fee charged to students themselves)

• DHS estimates 73.4% of small schools will see a compliance-cost impact of 1% or less of annual revenue — a real but, per DHS's own analysis, generally modest burden per institution

This Isn't DHS's First Attempt — By a Long Way

The back-and-forth here spans nearly five decades, and it's worth seeing the full arc:

• 1978 — D/S is introduced for F-1 students

• January 1981 — INS actually reverses course and moves F-1 students to a fixed admission period with case-by-case extensions, citing "questionable control over foreign students" under D/S

• April 1983 — D/S is reinstated for F-1 students after the fixed-period experiment

• 1985 — D/S extended to J and I nonimmigrants for the first time

• 1987 and 1991 — Further amendments refine D/S procedures without eliminating it

• September 2020 — DHS proposes ending D/S for F and J nonimmigrants (85 FR 60526) — functionally the same core idea as this 2026 rule

• July 2021 — That 2020 proposal is formally withdrawn (86 FR 35410) before ever taking effect

• August 2025 — DHS proposes the idea again via a new NPRM

• July 2026 — This time, it clears the comment process and becomes a final rule

Why it matters: Washington has now tried to end D/S for international students twice in six years, and abandoned it once already amid pushback. The fact that the second attempt survived to finalization — after fielding 22,000 comments — signals a level of institutional commitment to this change that the withdrawn 2020 version never demonstrated. It also means anyone assuming "this happened before and got walked back" should not assume the same outcome this time; the political and procedural landscape that killed the 2020 version isn't the one this rule is finalizing into.

For F-1 students

• Confirm your program end date on your I-20 and calculate whether it falls within the transition window or the new fixed-date regime

• Mark your calendar for the new 30-day (not 60-day) post-OPT departure window — this is a real, meaningfully shorter runway than before

• If you're at the graduate level, understand that changing your major or transferring schools is now essentially off the table absent an SEVP-approved exception, plan your program accordingly from day one

For J-1 exchange visitors

• If your program might run past 4 years or past your DS-2019 end date, start the EOS conversation with your Responsible Officer well before that date arrives, since this is now an active application, not a passive continuation

• J-2 family members should specifically confirm their own EAD expiration date, since — unlike the principal J-1 — their work authorization does not auto-extend during a pending EOS

For I nonimmigrants (foreign media)

• Track your 240-day (or 90-day, if applicable) clock from the rule's actual effective date, not from when you originally arrived

• If your assignment will run long, begin the EOS process with enough lead time to avoid a gap in status

For DSOs, ROs, and institutions

• Budget real staff hours for rule familiarization now — DHS's own estimate is 135 hours and roughly $6,735 per DSO in year one

• Build EOS tracking into standard advising workflows, since DHS estimates roughly 3 hours of DSO/RO time per individual EOS request going forward

For employers of J-1 or I nonimmigrants

• Confirm any employee's EOS filing status before assuming continued work authorization is automatic — the 240-day (or 90-day) protection applies specifically to F, J principal, and I nonimmigrants, not universally

For immigration attorneys and consultants

• Treat the September 15, 2026 effective date as provisional pending Congressional Review Act developments, and monitor for any DHS notice adjusting it

• Prioritize client review for anyone at the graduate level currently mid-program, since the transfer/change-of-objective restriction has no general good-cause exception outside SEVP-approved extenuating circumstances

Does this rule apply to me right now?
If you're currently in the U.S. under D/S in F, J, or I status, you continue under your existing terms until your program's actual end date or 4 years after the rule's effective date (whichever comes first) — you are not immediately cut off on September 15, 2026.

What's the maximum time I can be admitted for as an F-1 or J-1?
Your program length, up to a hard cap of 4 years, plus a 30-day departure window.

What if I need more time than that?
You must file an Extension of Stay (EOS) application with USCIS, including biometric information, before your admission period expires.

Can I still change my major in graduate school?
No, not under this rule, unless SEVP authorizes an exception for extenuating circumstances — this is one of the more restrictive provisions for graduate-level F-1 students specifically.

I'm an I nonimmigrant (foreign journalist), how long can I stay?
Up to 240 days to complete your assignment, or 90 days if you hold a passport from the People's Republic of China (Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR passports are excluded from the shorter limit).

Will I lose my job if my extension is still pending when my current status expires?
It depends on your category. J-1 exchange visitors and I nonimmigrants get up to 240 days (90 for most PRC passport holders) of continued work authorization automatically while their EOS is pending. F-1 students are treated more strictly: you can keep studying while your EOS is pending, but you're generally barred from starting new employment (including OPT) until it's approved — the only exception is if you're already working on-campus or under an existing severe-economic-hardship EAD, which gets auto-extended up to 240 days. J-2 dependents have it worst: their EAD-based work authorization simply ends when the EAD expires, regardless of any pending EOS.

Is this rule guaranteed to stay in effect?
It's classified as a "major rule" under the Congressional Review Act, meaning Congress has a review window. If the effective date changes as a result, DHS says it will publish a new Federal Register notice reflecting the actual date.

What makes this rule different from its failed 2020 predecessor isn't the substance, the core idea of replacing open-ended status with a fixed date is nearly identical, it's that this version made it all the way through 22,000 public comments to a final, effective rule. For the roughly 2.4 million people currently living in the U.S. under F, J, or I status, and the nearly 7,750 schools and program sponsors that support them, the practical shift is significant: a system that, for decades, required almost no ongoing interaction with immigration authorities now requires active, timely engagement — tracked against a hard countdown — for anyone whose stay runs long. DHS is betting that periodic checkpoints will meaningfully improve oversight and reduce fraud; critics who filed comments during the rulemaking process argued it adds cost, complexity, and risk of inadvertent status violations for people who were, by DHS's own account, mostly complying with the rules already. Both arguments are now moot for the current version — the only open question left is whether Congress's review changes the September 15, 2026 start date before it locks in.