The Clock Is Now Ticking: U.S. Ends Open-Ended Student Visa Stays in Historic Policy Shift

22 cze
6 minut(y) czytania

June 22, 2026 | Breaking News | United States

For more than three decades, an international student arriving at a U.S. airport could look at their immigration paperwork and see two letters that defined their entire academic journey: D/S — Duration of Status. No expiration date. No countdown. As long as you stayed enrolled, stayed in good standing, and kept your school's records updated, you could remain in the United States. Your program could take five years, six, even eight — and as far as immigration law was concerned, that was fine.

That era is officially over.

The Clock Is Now Ticking: U.S. Ends Open-Ended Student Visa Stays in Historic Policy Shift

On June 17, 2026, the White House Office of Management and Budget completed its review of a final rule submitted by the Department of Homeland Security on May 5. The rule — formally titled "Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media" — is now cleared for publication in the Federal Register. Once published, it takes effect 60 days later. The most likely start date: September 2026, in time for the fall academic semester.

The change affects three visa categories: F-1 (international students), J-1 (exchange visitors, research scholars, au pairs, summer work-travel participants), and I (foreign media representatives). Together, these categories represent hundreds of thousands of people living and studying in the United States at any given moment.

What Exactly Is Changing

Under the new framework, every F-1 and J-1 visa holder will receive a hard expiration date printed on their Form I-94 — the document that defines how long a person is legally allowed to remain in the U.S. That date will be set to the end of their academic program as listed on their Form I-20 (for students) or DS-2019 (for exchange visitors), capped at a maximum of four years, whichever comes first.

What this means in practice:

A student enrolled in a standard four-year bachelor's degree will receive a four-year admission period. If they graduate on time, they're fine.
A PhD candidate entering a six-year doctoral program will be admitted for four years — and will need to file a formal extension application with USCIS before that date expires to remain lawfully present.
A medical resident or research scholar in a multi-year fellowship faces the same USCIS filing requirement.
Language training students face an even shorter cap: 24 months, including vacations and breaks.

The grace period after program completion is also being cut. Currently, F-1 students have 60 days after graduation to depart, apply for Optional Practical Training (OPT), or change their immigration status. Under the new rule, that window shrinks to 30 days.

The Stakes: Unlawful Presence and the 3- and 10-Year Bars

This is where the stakes become very serious — and why immigration lawyers are calling this the most significant change to the student visa system in a generation.

Under the old D/S system, if a student fell out of status (say, by reducing their course load without authorization), it was difficult for DHS to even detect the violation, because no fixed date on their I-94 had technically passed. That created flexibility — but also, the government argues, created enforcement gaps and fraud opportunities.

Under the new system, the moment an I-94 expiration date passes, a student begins accruing unlawful presence immediately. And unlawful presence triggers federal bars: accumulate more than 180 days and you face a 3-year bar from re-entering the United States. More than one year triggers a 10-year bar. These are not minor consequences — they can effectively end someone's academic and professional relationship with the U.S. for a decade.

For PhD students in the middle of dissertation research, for medical residents months away from finishing a fellowship, the margin for error under the new system is essentially zero.

A Power Shift from Universities to Washington

Perhaps the most structurally significant change is where authority now lives.

Under the D/S system, Designated School Officials (DSOs) at universities had broad power to manage student timelines. If a student transferred programs, extended their degree, or needed more time, the DSO could update SEVIS — the federal student tracking system — and the student remained in lawful status. No USCIS involvement required.

Under the new rule, that authority shifts entirely to federal immigration officers. Students who need more time will file Form I-539, submit biometrics, pay a filing fee, and wait for a USCIS decision made at the discretion of an immigration officer — not a school administrator who knows the student's academic history.

Universities are already preparing for the consequences. International student offices will need to track fixed I-94 expiration dates for every student, build compliance calendars, retrain staff, and — critically — advise incoming students realistically about whether their programs can actually be completed within four years.

What About OPT and STEM OPT?

Optional Practical Training — the post-graduation work authorization that allows F-1 students to work in the U.S. for 12 months (or up to 36 months for STEM graduates) — is also affected.

Under the new compressed grace period, students will have only 30 days after graduation to file for OPT. Currently USCIS advises students to apply up to 90 days before their program ends. Under the new rule, that advance filing strategy becomes not just smart — it becomes essential. A student who waits until graduation to start the OPT process risks their I-94 expiring before authorization is granted.

For STEM OPT extensions — already a target of separate policy pressure — the new framework creates additional uncertainty about how extension filings interact with hard I-94 dates. DHS has not yet clarified the exact mechanics in publicly available rule documents.

The filing fee for Form I-765 (the OPT application) has also increased from $1,685 to $1,780, adding to the financial burden on students who are typically ineligible for federal aid.

The Government's Rationale

DHS has been consistent in how it frames this change: as an enforcement and national security measure, not an attempt to reduce international student enrollment.

The agency points to data showing that at least 2,134 individuals who entered the U.S. on F-1 visas between 2000 and 2010 were still listed as active in F-1 status as of April 2026 — between 16 and 26 years after entry. Under D/S, DHS argues, it cannot meaningfully track compliance for students who stay enrolled indefinitely and never trigger a review.

"For too long, past Administrations have allowed foreign students and other visa holders to remain in the U.S. virtually indefinitely," DHS said when the proposed rule was first published in August 2025. "This new rule would end that abuse once and for all."

Critics, including the Association of International Educators (NAFSA), have pushed back vigorously, arguing that the government's data does not demonstrate widespread abuse and that the compliance costs — both to students and institutions — are enormous and disproportionate.

Who Is Affected Right Now

The rule is not yet in effect. Current law continues to apply until the rule is published in the Federal Register and the 60-day implementation period expires. Students currently enrolled and maintaining D/S status do not need to take immediate action — but they do need to prepare.

Current F-1 and J-1 students should:

Confirm their program end date with their DSO and ensure their I-20 or DS-2019 is accurate
If enrolled in a program longer than four years, speak with an immigration attorney about extension planning now
Begin OPT paperwork earlier than ever — do not wait until graduation
Budget for potential USCIS filing fees mid-program

Students admitted from September 2026 onward will enter the new system from day one, with a fixed I-94 end date and no D/S flexibility.

Universities are in a race to update admissions messaging, retrain international student advisors, and build internal compliance systems before the September implementation window.

The Bigger Picture

This rule does not exist in isolation. It is part of a broader restructuring of how the Trump administration approaches nonimmigrant visa programs — one that consistently shifts authority from universities, employers, and individuals toward federal adjudication, with tighter timelines, more paperwork, and less flexibility built in.

For the more than one million international students currently studying in the United States, the message is the same regardless of where they stand in their academic journey: the system that once gave you time has been replaced by one that now counts it.