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Duration of Status Is Ending: The 4-Year Fixed Admission for F, J and I Visas
For decades, students and exchange visitors were admitted for "duration of status" — as long as it took to finish the programme, with no fixed end date on the I-94. A DHS final rule replaces that with a fixed period of admission of up to four years, effective 15 September 2026. This page is written from the rule itself — 91 FR 44976 — which runs to over a million characters and is not something most applicants will read.
A lawsuit is pending, and it has not stopped the rule
On 18 August 2026 a coalition of higher-education and labour organisations — NAFSA, the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, the American Federation of Teachers and the UAW — sued DHS in federal court in Massachusetts, asking the court to block this rule before it takes effect.
Read that carefully, because the headlines invite the wrong conclusion. Filing a complaint, and even a motion for a preliminary injunction, suspends nothing by itself. A judge has to grant the injunction, after briefing and a hearing.
Where it stands now. Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV heard argument on the injunction motion on 3 September 2026 in the District of Massachusetts. As of 9 September no ruling had issued — NAFSA's own litigation tracker, updated that day, still showed the motion undecided. So a decision could land at any point in the days before the rule takes effect — the rule remains on track for 15 September 2026 unless and until it does.
That is an uncomfortable position to plan around, so plan around the rule taking effect. If a court does enjoin it, that is a reprieve you can adjust to. Arranging your stay on the assumption that the lawsuit will succeed is the risky way round — and if you read elsewhere that the rule is already blocked, check the date and check which measure is being described. Several unrelated immigration actions were enjoined in the same fortnight, and they are easy to confuse with this one.
What changes, in one paragraph
Under the rule, an F, J or I nonimmigrant is admitted until the end date of their programme, not to exceed four years, plus a 30-day grace period for F and J visa holders to depart. Anyone whose programme runs longer than four years must file for an extension of stay with USCIS before the admission period expires. The old "D/S" notation on the I-94 goes away.
In the rule's words:
not to exceed 4 years, plus an additional 30-days for F and J nonimmigrants to depart.
Who is affected
| Class | Who | Affected |
|---|---|---|
| F-1 / F-2 | Academic students and dependants | Yes |
| J-1 / J-2 | Exchange visitors and dependants | Yes |
| I | Representatives of foreign information media | Yes |
| M-1 | Vocational students | Already had a fixed period; not the subject of this rule |
Effective date, and a caveat the rule itself gives
The stated effective date is 15 September 2026. The rule is classified as a "major rule" under the Congressional Review Act, and it says plainly that if that review changes the effective date, DHS will publish the new date. Treat 15 September as the date unless a later Federal Register notice says otherwise.
If you are already in the United States on D/S
You are not thrown out on 15 September. The rule's transition approach is to treat existing D/S admissions as running for four years from the effective date — those who have not completed their programmes by then will need to apply for an extension of stay. In the rule's phrasing, the plan is:
to notate the date 4 years out, when those who have not completed their programs under the D/S system will need to apply for EOS.
So a student admitted on D/S in 2024 has until roughly September 2030 before an extension is needed, unless the programme ends sooner.
How extensions work
Extensions are filed with USCIS on Form I-539, the same form used for other nonimmigrant extensions. The rule adds a provision that a request filed within the 30-day grace period is treated as timely. Two things to know:
- Your school's DSO cannot file it for you. Commenters told DHS that many schools do not allow officials to prepare I-539s because it could constitute unauthorised practice of law. DHS did not change that; the filing is yours.
- File before the admission period ends, not after. The grace period is a departure window that the rule also accepts as a late-filing window — not a planning target.
The change almost nobody is explaining: unlawful presence
This is the part with the sharpest consequences, and it follows from the fixed date rather than being announced separately.
Under D/S, unlawful presence did not start running when you fell out of status. It began only the day after USCIS formally found a status violation while adjudicating some other benefit request, or the day after an immigration judge ordered you excluded, deported or removed. In practice that meant a student who overstayed a programme end date was out of status, but was not usually accruing unlawful presence.
With a date on the I-94, that buffer is gone. Once the authorised admission period expires, unlawful presence begins accruing from the day after — no finding required, no hearing, nothing to trigger it but the date passing.
That matters because of what unlawful presence carries under INA 212(a)(9)(B):
| Unlawful presence accrued | Consequence on departure |
|---|---|
| More than 180 days | 3-year bar on returning to the United States |
| More than one year | 10-year bar |
So the practical shift is this. Under D/S, missing a deadline was a status problem you could usually fix. Under a fixed admission date, the same slip starts a clock that attaches to your record when you leave the country.
Which is why the extension deadline is the date to diarise, not the programme end date. File the extension of stay before the I-94 expires, not before your course does.
This describes how the rule works. It is not legal advice, and the bars under 212(a)(9)(B) have exceptions and tolling rules that depend on individual circumstances — if you are near an expiry date, that is a question for a licensed immigration attorney, not a website.
What this means for your DS-160 and visa
The DS-160 does not change. The visa itself does not change — an F-1 visa is still issued with whatever validity your nationality's reciprocity schedule allows. What changes is the admission period stamped at the border: a fixed end date instead of D/S.
Practical consequences:
- Check your I-94 after every entry. Under D/S, the I-94 said "D/S". Now it will show a date. That date, not your I-20's programme end date, is the one that governs when you fall out of status.
- Programmes longer than four years need a plan. PhD students in particular should expect to file an I-539 around year four.
- Changing programmes or schools no longer automatically carries your status forward for as long as the new programme runs. The four-year ceiling from your admission date still applies.
Why DHS did it
The rule's stated rationale is oversight: under D/S, DHS had no periodic point at which to review whether a student was actually progressing. Commenters opposing the rule argued it adds filings every few years and that students would lose status over paperwork; supporters argued that D/S had become, in one commenter's phrase quoted in the rule, a visa to "do whatever you want" for years. DHS finalised the four-year ceiling as the compromise.
Frequently asked questions
When does duration of status end?
The rule's effective date is 15 September 2026, subject to change if Congressional review alters it.
I am already in the U.S. on an F-1 with D/S. What happens to me?
Nothing immediately. Your admission is treated as running four years from the effective date. If your programme is not finished by then, you file an I-539 extension.
How long is the new fixed period?
Up to the programme end date on your I-20 or DS-2019, but not more than four years, plus a 30-day grace period for F and J to depart.
Can my school extend my stay for me?
No. Extensions are filed on Form I-539 by you, with USCIS. Many schools will not prepare it because it could be unauthorised practice of law.
Does this change the F-1 visa in my passport?
No. It changes the admission period on your I-94, which is set at the border, not the visa.
What happens if my I-94 expires before I finish my programme?
You stop being in status, and from the day after the expiry date you begin accruing unlawful presence — which under D/S would not have started without a formal finding. More than 180 days triggers a 3-year bar on return, more than a year a 10-year bar. File the extension before the I-94 date, not the programme date.
Did anything change on September 15, 2026?
That is the effective date of the DHS final rule. From then, F, J and I nonimmigrants are admitted for a fixed period rather than for duration of status.
Does this affect M-1 vocational students?
M-1 already had a fixed admission period and is not the subject of this rule.
Sources
- 91 FR 44976 — 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 (final rule, effective 15 September 2026)
- 8 CFR Parts 214, 248 and 274a (amended)
- Fragomen — Lawsuit seeks to enjoin implementation of the final rule — coalition complaint filed 18 August 2026, D. Mass.
- Study in the States — Final Rule quick facts (DHS)