Today, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it will scrap a decades-old regulation known as “duration of status,” which allowed international students to stay in the U.S. until they finished their program of study.
Under a final rule, the duration of nonimmigrant academic and exchange visas (F-1 and J-1 classifications) will be capped at four years unless an exception is granted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The final rule will also limit international students’ ability to change their major and transfer between institutions once in the U.S.
Notably: While the rule does not eliminate Optional Practical Training (OPT)—a temporary work authorization commonly used by international students to extend their time in the U.S. while on an F-1 visa—students whose post-completion OPT extends beyond their fixed admission date will need to file an extension of stay request with USCIS. Additionally, the post-completion grace period to leave the country will be cut in half, from 60 to 30 days.
According to DHS, the fixed period for these classifications is intended to curb “rampant” foreign student visa abuse and prevent international students from overstaying in the U.S. without oversight from immigration officials.
A Long Time Coming, Despite Backlash
Efforts to roll back duration of status are years in the making. The first Trump administration proposed a rule to end duration of status; however, the proposed rule was withdrawn after former President Biden took office. The rule was proposed again last summer, and it received more than 22,000 comments during a truncated public comment period.
Commenters noted that a large share of students do not finish a degree program in four years, and that Ph.D. programs can rarely be completed in a four-year time frame. They also raised concerns that this could discourage international students from attending American institutions, which would have both major financial implications for those schools and broader economic consequences.
NAFSA, the international educators association, argued in their comment letter that there is no empirical evidence drawn between duration of status and increased fraud or national security risk, and that DHS was justifying the rule on speculation that ending duration of status might result in uncovering high rates of noncompliance. NAFSA also pointed out that international students are among the most surveilled immigrant categories in the U.S. due to tracking requirements via the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System (SEVIS), and suggested that DHS should utilize the systems and authority it already has to focus enforcement efforts on “bad actors.”
Administrative burden also tops the list of concerns about the new rule. USCIS has a backlog of nearly 12 million cases as of Q4 2025, according to the American Immigration Council; as a result, international students are expected to face significant delays should they need to file an extension for their program of study. Extensions, too, are discretionary, and it is unclear how many extensions will be authorized by USCIS.
What’s Next
The final rule will be officially published in the Federal Register within the next couple of days, per DHS’ announcement. After it is published, it will go into effect after 60 days. Current international students on F-1 and J-1 visas will be automatically transitioned to the new system, and their authorization to stay in the U.S. will be limited to a maximum of four years from the rule’s effective date.
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