F-1/J-1 Duration of Status: The 2026 Elimination Rule

On May 5, 2026, DHS submitted a final rule to the Office of Management and Budget that would end one of the oldest features of U.S. student visa law: Duration of Status. For over 50 years, F-1 and J-1 nonimmigrants have been admitted for the "duration" of their academic program rather than a fixed calendar date. That framework is now heading for elimination.

The rule is not yet published and not yet in effect. But the OMB submission is the final step before Federal Register publication, and once published, the rule would take effect in 60 days. Practitioners should be preparing now rather than waiting for the effective date.

What Duration of Status Is and Why It Exists

Duration of Status is the admission annotation that appears on I-94 arrival records for F-1 and J-1 holders as "D/S." F-1 nonimmigrant status is defined at INA § 101(a)(15)(F) (8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(F)). Unlike H-1B or L-1 visas that expire on a specific date, D/S means that status is valid as long as the student maintains the conditions of their visa category: enrolled in school, making normal progress toward a degree, authorized by a Designated School Official.

The framework was deliberately designed for students. Academic programs have variable timelines. A doctoral dissertation defense can't be scheduled to match a visa expiration date. The D/S approach delegated day-to-day status maintenance to the universities and program directors who actually understand what "normal progress" means: the Designated School Officials who maintain SEVIS records.

That delegation is precisely what the 2026 rule eliminates.

The Proposed Rule: What It Actually Says

The rule originated as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published August 28, 2025 (Federal Register document 2025-16554). DHS submitted a final version to OMB on May 5, 2026, indicating the public comment period has closed and DHS has finalized its regulatory text.

The core changes proposed:

1. Fixed 4-year admission period. F-1, J-1, and I visa holders would be admitted for 4 years, or the length of their educational program as indicated on Form I-20 or DS-2019, whichever is shorter. The I-94 would carry a calendar expiration date, not "D/S."

2. DSOs lose extension authority. Under the current system, a DSO can extend an I-20 end date, allowing a student to remain in status past their original program end date, without any USCIS filing. Under the proposed rule, only USCIS can extend status, via Form I-539.

3. Shortened grace period. The current 60-day grace period after program completion or status expiration would be reduced to 30 days.

4. Academic program restrictions. Undergraduate students could not change their major or program of study in the first year. Graduate students could not change programs at all during their fixed period. A master's student admitted for program X could not switch to program Y without new admission.

5. 4-year clock does not reset between programs. A student who completes a 4-year undergraduate degree would immediately need status extension to begin graduate study.

Who Is Most Affected

PhD Students

The clearest impact falls on doctoral candidates. Doctoral programs in the United States typically run 5 to 8 years from initial enrollment. Under the proposed 4-year cap, essentially every PhD student would exhaust their fixed admission period before completing their degree.

An international student admitted to a PhD program today at year zero would, under the new rule, need to file Form I-539 approximately one year into their program (filing early enough to account for USCIS processing times) and again at the 8-year mark if still enrolled.

The USCIS Form I-539 currently carries processing times of 4 to 6 months and the current filing fee. These are not incidental costs. For students on stipends of $20,000–$35,000 per year, a filing fee with months of processing uncertainty represents a genuine burden. Universities that fund their PhD students will face pressure to fund I-539 costs as part of graduate student support packages.

STEM OPT Holders

Optional Practical Training (OPT) and STEM OPT extension currently allow F-1 graduates to work in the United States for up to 3 years after completing their degree. Under the existing D/S system, the I-94 carries "D/S" through the academic program and into the OPT period without a gap.

Under the proposed rule, if a student's fixed 4-year admission period expires during or before the OPT/STEM OPT window, the I-94 would expire even while the EAD remains valid. A student holding an active STEM OPT EAD with an expired I-94 would be in unlawful presence (potentially accruing bars to future admission) despite holding a document that says they are authorized to work.

Resolving this requires a Form I-539 to extend the I-94 to match the EAD. Given USCIS processing times, this means students would need to file I-539 months before the I-94 expiration.

Sequential Degree Students

Perhaps the most overlooked population is students who pursue sequential degrees: a bachelor's degree followed by a master's, or a master's followed by a doctoral program. Under current D/S rules, each new academic program resets the student's status basis. Under the proposed rule, the 4-year clock is not reset by graduation and re-enrollment.

A student who completes a 4-year undergraduate program has consumed their entire fixed admission period. To begin a graduate program, they would need to file I-539 immediately or depart and re-enter on a new admission. Given current I-539 processing times and the typical September enrollment cycle, this creates a structural problem: students finishing in May would need to file by March or earlier to ensure processed status before fall enrollment.

J-1 Exchange Visitors

The rule applies equally to J-1 exchange visitors under programs governed by the Department of State. The current DS-2019 framework, like I-20 for F-1 students, relies on program-defined timelines rather than fixed dates. The 4-year cap would apply here as well, with J-1 program sponsors facing the same loss of administrative flexibility as university DSOs.

What DSOs Lose and What USCIS Gains

Under the current framework, 8 CFR 214.2(f) grants DSOs significant administrative authority: they can extend I-20 program end dates to accommodate academic delays, authorize transfers between schools, approve concurrent enrollment, and certify reduced course loads. None of these actions require a USCIS filing or fee.

The proposed rule strips DSOs of extension authority. Extensions of stay would require Form I-539, a USCIS petition, filed with fee, subject to adjudication, with current processing times of 4 to 6 months. Program extensions that currently take a DSO 15 minutes to process in SEVIS would take 4 to 6 months and cost the current I-539 filing fee per student.

The practical volume implications are significant. Approximately 1.6 million F-1 students are currently in the United States. Even if only 20% need status extensions in any given year, that would represent roughly 320,000 additional I-539 filings annually, on top of the existing I-539 caseload. USCIS has not proposed a concurrent increase in I-539 adjudication capacity.

The STEM OPT Problem in Detail

The alignment issue for STEM OPT holders deserves extended attention because it affects students who are already in post-completion status and have the most to lose.

Current STEM OPT authorization works on a continuous basis: the 12-month initial OPT EAD is followed by a 24-month STEM OPT extension, for a total of 36 months of authorized employment. EADs during this period are issued with specific expiration dates tied to the OPT authorization period.

Under the proposed 4-year cap, consider a student who entered on F-1 status in fall 2022. Their I-94 would expire in fall 2026. They complete their degree in spring 2026 and are authorized for OPT through spring 2027, and STEM OPT through spring 2029. Under the current system, the D/S annotation on their I-94 transitions through each phase. Under the proposed rule, their I-94 would expire in fall 2026, in the middle of their initial OPT period.

That student would need to file I-539 to extend their I-94 before fall 2026. With 4–6 month processing, they would need to file by spring 2026 at the latest. The practical result: students in the middle of their OPT period, with valid EADs and lawful employment, would face a status gap created purely by a regulatory change to the I-94 framework.

NAFSA and other higher education advocates raised this exact scenario in public comments on the proposed rule. Whether DHS addressed it in the final rule text submitted to OMB is unknown until OMB review completes and the Federal Register text is published.

The Regulatory Timeline

Practitioners tracking this rule should monitor two dates:

OMB review completion: OIRA typically reviews rules within 90 days. The May 5, 2026 submission date implies OIRA review could complete by early August 2026. If OMB returns the rule to DHS for revision, the timeline extends.

Federal Register publication: After OMB clears the rule, DHS publishes it in the Federal Register with an effective date. Rulemaking for major immigration changes typically provides at least 60 days before the rule takes effect. Under the fastest scenario, Federal Register publication in late July 2026 would yield an effective date in late September 2026.

A more realistic timeline, accounting for OIRA revisions and publication delays, puts the effective date in late 2026, with some possibility of a 2027 start.

What the Rule Signals Beyond Student Visas

The D/S elimination is not an isolated measure. It is part of a broader pattern of consolidating immigration discretion at USCIS and removing delegated authority from universities and program sponsors.

The same regulatory posture is visible in the Adjustment of Status discretionary memo, which specifically addressed preconceived intent scrutiny for F-1 students seeking marriage-based adjustment, and in the broader PM-602-0199 framework that reframes adjustment of status as extraordinary discretionary relief rather than a ministerial process.

Together, these measures increase the number of touchpoints where USCIS adjudicators exercise discretion over student immigration status and decrease the number of decisions delegated to universities, which have historically been efficient and accurate stewards of that authority.

For practitioners representing F-1 clients in any status category, initial entry, OPT, STEM OPT, change of status, or adjustment, the appropriate response is to document status maintenance scrupulously and to begin identifying extension timelines for every client who would be affected by a 4-year cap.

The Academic Institution Problem

Universities face a structural challenge that practitioners should understand when advising institutional clients. Under the current system, international student advising offices process I-20 extensions routinely and at low cost. Under the proposed rule, every extension that currently takes a DSO 15 minutes would require a student to file I-539, pay the filing fee, and wait 4–6 months.

Universities will face pressure from students and faculty to absorb these costs and to staff up international student offices to advise on I-539 filings. The legal and compliance risk for universities also increases: DSOs who fail to flag a student approaching their 4-year I-94 expiration date could expose the university to SEVIS compliance violations.

Practitioners with university clients should begin advising institutions now on what changes to policy, process, and staffing the rule would require, including whether to retain outside immigration counsel for the anticipated I-539 volume.

What Practitioners Should Do Now

The rule is not yet effective, but the planning window before it takes effect is the time to act:

1. Identify affected clients by program type. Pull a list of F-1 and J-1 clients, sort by program type (PhD, master's, undergraduate, OPT, STEM OPT). Flag anyone whose program or status period extends beyond 4 years from their last entry.

2. Calculate I-94 expiration relative to program end. For clients who would be affected, calculate when the 4-year clock would expire and how much of their program remains.

3. Map the OPT/STEM OPT alignment issue. For OPT and STEM OPT clients, check whether their existing I-94 (if converted to a fixed date) would expire before their EAD.

4. Advise sequential degree clients. Students planning to transition from undergraduate to graduate programs, or from master's to doctoral programs, need to understand the clock does not reset.

5. Monitor OMB clearance. Track OMB status at regulations.gov and watch for Federal Register notices. The Fragomen analysis of the DHS submission provides public-source context on what the final rule changes.

6. Review academic program restriction implications. Students who are planning a change of major in their first year, or who are graduate students considering a program switch, need to understand these decisions carry immigration consequences under the proposed rule.

The June 2026 immigration policy environment is unusually compressed. Beyond the D/S elimination rule, H.R. 1's annual asylum fee is now in effect, the Adjustment of Status discretionary memo adds scrutiny to F-1 adjustment pathways, and immigration court mega-dockets are accelerating removal timelines for unrepresented respondents. Clients across immigration status categories need proactive counsel now, before these rules cascade.

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