Original Date Announced

After issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking on August 28, 2025, DHS published a final rule changing the admission period for the F, J, and I classifications from "duration of status" to "admission for a fixed period." The rule requires "all F, J, and I nonimmigrants who wish to remain in the United States beyond their specific authorized admission period to apply for authorization to extend their stay with USCIS if in the United States, thus requiring periodic assessments by DHS in order for the alien to remain in the United States for a longer period." The rule reflects a change from current practice under which F, J, and I nonimmigrants are admitted for duration of status, i.e., for the duration of time they comply with their nonimmigrant classification.

Among other things, the rule also reduces the F-1 post-completion departure period from 60 to 30 days, bars graduate students from changing educational objectives or transferring schools absent approved extenuating circumstances, and caps language training students at an aggregate 24 months.

The rule takes effect on September 15, 2026, and is classified as a major rule subject to congressional review.

Trump 2.0 [ID #1940]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2026.08.18 Complaint - Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration v. DHS

Higher education organizations filed suit to challenge the final rule described above. Plaintiffs allege that DHS failed to adequately consider the rule’s substantial effects on international students and universities, including decreased enrollment, administrative burdens, and disruption to academic programs, and by conducting a defective cost-benefit analysis. They further argue that DHS’s stated rationales—national security and preventing fraud—are unsupported by evidence and are not rationally connected to eliminating duration of status. Plaintiffs argue that the final rule violates the APA and seek declaratory and injunctive relief. Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration v. DHS, No. 1:26-cv-13799 (D. Mass.).

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