The end of “duration of status” for F-1 students currently studying in US is now official.
What does this mean?
For decades, F-1 students, J-1 exchange visitors, and I-status foreign journalists were admitted to the US on “duration of status” (D/S) which meant no fixed expiration date on their I-94. As long as they remained enrolled or compliant with their program, they were legally fine.
DHS has scrapped that. Starting September 15, 2026, everyone in these categories gets a specific, date-certain admission period instead.
Why does this matter?
- If someone needs more time than their fixed period allows, they must now file an Extension of Stay (EOS) request with USCIS, or depart the US and seek readmission, rather than just continuing as long as they comply.
- The standard post-graduation grace period for F-1 students is also dropping from 60 days to 30 days
In an exclusive interaction with Financial Express, US-based immigration attorney Rajiv S. Khanna said the part of the rule generating the most confusion and carrying the most risk is travel.
‘Nothing happens when you leave. It happens when you come back’
Khanna said students should not think of September 15 as a deadline by which they must complete paperwork. “If you are properly maintaining status that day, you are transitioned by operation of law,” he said. “You file nothing.
You will not receive a new I-94, and the one you hold will keep saying D/S, which is precisely the danger: your deadline now exists whether or not anything is printed on it.”
According to the DHS, students who are already in the US under the current Duration of Status (D/S) system and are maintaining their legal status will automatically move into the transition category. They do not need to get a new I-94 with a fixed date.
Instead, their stay will continue until the later of their programme end date or, for students on Optional Practical Training (OPT), the expiry of their work authorisation. Even then, the stay cannot go beyond four years from the rule’s effective date, followed by the allowed departure period.
DHS has also clarified that students who are already in the country and apply for post-completion OPT or STEM OPT by March 18, 2027 will not have to submit a separate extension of stay application.
Travel after September 15 could completely change your status
According to Khanna, the real turning point comes when a student leaves the US and tries to return.”Travel is where I would concentrate,” the told Financial Express Digital.
“Nothing happens when you leave. It happens when you come back. Anyone applying for admission as an F nonimmigrant after September 15 is inspected and admitted under the new rules, for the program length on the I-20 or four years, whichever is shorter.”
“So if a student is weighing a trip in August against a trip in November, August is materially safer, because an admission before the effective date is still a duration-of-status admission, and it carries that student into the transition category rather than the new fixed-date regime,” he added.
The grace period could be cut in half
Khanna believes this is the part many students may overlook. According to him, the admission date itself may not change much after re-entry. The real loss is the grace period students receive after completing their studies.
“The transition category holds sixty days. A student readmitted under the new regime holds thirty. A summer trip home cuts your runway in half, permanently, and nobody at the airport will mention it.”
The final DHS rule confirms this.
Students admitted under the new system will get only a 30-day grace period after finishing their programme instead of the current 60 days. That shorter period will leave less time to prepare for departure, transfer to another school, change immigration status or begin another academic programme.
File your paperwork before you travel, lawyer advises
Khanna says students should not panic and rush to submit their Optional Practical Training (OPT) application before September 15. Students who are already in the US have until March 18, 2027, to apply for post-completion OPT without needing a separate extension of stay application.
However, he says one thing is extremely important: complete your immigration paperwork before leaving the country.
“Do not rush the OPT filing before September 15,” he said. “But do file it before you travel, because a student who departs before filing and is then readmitted with a fixed period of admission must file both. File first, travel after.”
Under the new system, students returning to the US after travel without first filing their OPT application could end up having to submit two separate applications instead of one. Along with applying for employment authorisation, they may also need to file an extension of stay application.
This marks a major change from the current system. Until now, OPT approval mainly depended on a SEVIS update from a student’s international office. Under the new rule, students recommended for post-completion OPT must either apply for an extension of stay through USCIS or seek fresh admission through Customs and Border Protection (CBP) if they travel outside the US.
“The rule requires a student recommended for post-completion OPT to apply for employment authorisation and either apply for an extension of stay with USCIS or seek admission through CBP after travel abroad. That is structural rather than discretionary.”