For as long as most international students have been coming to the US, one phrase has meant safety: "Duration of Status." As long as you kept studying, kept your grades up, and followed the rules, your I-94 simply said D/S — no expiration date, no clock ticking in the background. That era ends in two weeks. On July 17, 2026, DHS published a final rule tearing out the D/S framework for F-1 students, J-1 exchange visitors, and I nonimmigrant media representatives, and replacing