On July 17, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) published a final rule establishing a fixed period of admission and eliminating the more open-ended “duration of status” for F-1 academic students, J-1 exchange visitors, and I media representatives. The framework also provides a new procedure for extension of status for these visa holders. The rule becomes effective on September 15, 2026, and among other important changes, will affect processes and timelines for foreign students to transfer programs, matriculate, and seek work authorization.

This Legal Update addresses the following significant changes: the new requirements of F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors, including as related to their employment authorization; and I media representatives, relevant to foreign news organizations and other media employers.

Context: What’s Changing?

For more than 40 years, individuals in the United States in the F, J, and I visa categories have not been assigned a fixed expiration date for their visa status. Instead, these visa holders were admitted to the United States for the “Duration of Status” or “Duration of Stay” (“D/S”). The D/S admission allowed these visa holders to remain in the United States so long as they continued to comply with the terms of their visa. For instance, an individual entering the United States for a Bachelor’s degree program could later pursue Master’s and Doctoral studies in the United States over a period of many years without requiring an explicit extension of F-1 student visa status.

The D/S admission differed significantly from other nonimmigrant visa categories, such as the admission periods provided to tourists and employment-based visa holders, who are provided with status based on a fixed period of admission (i.e., an expiration date).

The rule replaces D/S with fixed expiration dates. The final rule notes that this change will create more regular, predetermined touchpoints for verifying continued compliance with visa terms, and will align treatment of F, J, and I nonimmigrants with most other nonimmigrant categories that are already admitted for a fixed period. The final rule estimates total impact on affected parties, including universities and students, at approximately $448.6 million per year.

Part One: F-1 Students and J-1 Exchange Visitors

The changes included in the final rule will affect the more than 1 million F-1 and J-1 visa holders and their families in the United States, including their timelines to seek work authorization, pursue further academic studies, transition to other visa statuses, and depart the United States. The table below compares the standards applied to F-1 and J-1 visa holders before and after the final rule, including admission periods, grace periods, and extension processes.

Changes for F-1 Students and J-1 Exchange Visitors

Extensions of Status: If F-1 and J-1 visa holders seek to remain in the United States beyond their initial period of admission, such as if a Bachelor’s degree student requires more than the standard four years to graduate or to pursue OPT, or seeks to advance to Master’s-level studies, they must generally file a request for Extension of Status (“EOS”) using Form I-539 with USCIS. USCIS will review the EOS request to ensure a compelling academic reason, documented illness, or circumstances beyond the student’s control exist; repeated academic probation or inability to complete a program will not generally suffice. At present, the USCIS filing fees for similar EOS requests range from $420 to $470, and processing times can be weeks if not months.

As an alternative to filing an EOS, a student or exchange visitor may depart the United States and seek readmission to receive a new Form I-94 with a fresh validity period. Students and exchange visitors should coordinate with their F-1 designated school official or J-1 program sponsor in advance to ensure compliance with all requirements and to obtain the necessary documentation to request EOS.

Family members: F-2 and J-2 dependent spouse and children may be included on current Form I-539A, filed together with the principal’s Form I-539, for one combined fee, at present. Dependents receive the same authorized period as the principal and cannot remain in the United States for a longer period. If the principal’s EOS is denied, dependents must also depart. Separate filing remains possible but is not required.

Transfer restrictions: F-1 undergraduate students now must generally complete one academic year in the United States before seeking transfer or changing objectives. F-1 graduate students now cannot change educational objectives or transfer schools absent an authorized exception for extenuating circumstances. Students completing an academic program and wishing to continue their studies must progress to a new program at a higher level, meaning students cannot pursue a second degree at the same level.

Special limitation for English language training: Students now face an aggregate 24-month limit on their period of stay, including breaks.

Work authorization – OPT, CPT, and cap-gap protections: The rule does not change Optional Practical Training (“OPT”), Curriculum Practical Training (“CPT”), or STEM OPT eligibility criteria, or H-1B cap-gap protections. As a transition accommodation, F-1 students who timely file a Form I-765 for post-completion OPT or STEM OPT on or before March 18, 2027, do not need to file a separate EOS. Following this transition period, F-1 students seeking OPT generally would be required to file a request for EOS in addition to the request for work authorization.

Commenters to the proposed rule noted that this doubling of required submissions could lead to delays in students obtaining OPT and STEM OPT work authorization and create additional administrative burden for USCIS in adjudicating requests. For example, an F-1 student who receives an approval of Form I-765 for OPT work authorization would still need to wait for the I-539 extension approval before commencing work, potentially delaying employment start dates. In addition, those F-1 students benefitting from “cap-gap” extensions of OPT/STEM OPT work authorization associated with the transition to H-1B status may be affected by the new rule. In response to comments provided during the rulemaking process, DHS confirms in the final rule that such individuals would continue to receive “automatic” EOS and extension of work authorization.

During the rulemaking, DHS and commenters specifically cited “Day-1 CPT” graduate-level academic programs, in which certain students receive authorization for full-time, off-campus employment immediately upon enrollment, as a target of the proposed rule because of allegations of disproportionate visa abuse. The final rule does not itself impose new limits on specifically on Day-1 CPT, but limits the ability of foreign students to pursue multiple degrees at the same academic level. The change will affect Day-1 CPT eligibility for some students.

Transition for F-1 and J-1 Nonimmigrants

F and J nonimmigrants who are maintaining their status on the rule’s effective date convert automatically into the new framework, without any required filing on that date, by operation of the new regulations. Individuals remain authorized to stay until the earlier of (1) the program end date shown on their current Form I-20 or Form DS-2019, or (2) four years after the rule’s effective date. No revision or correction to the visa holder’s entry record (Form I-94) is required during this window. If, however, these individuals travel abroad and are readmitted during the transition period, they will be issued a new Form I-94 with a fixed admission period. Separately, F-1 students who timely file a Form I-765 for post-completion OPT or STEM OPT on or before March 18, 2027, will not need to separately file an EOS application for that period.

What Employers, Foreign Students, Universities, and Exchange Program Sponsors Should Do Now

• Track individual admission end dates. Begin tracking each F-1 or J-1 nonimmigrant’s specific Form I-94 “Admit Until Date.” Similar to tracking for employment-based visas, compliance platforms should be updated to flag these dates and generate alerts well before expiration.
• Calendar EOS filing deadlines with lead time. Form I-539 must be filed with USCIS before the current admission period expires to be considered timely. A late filing may not preserve authorized stay, and the visa holder could begin accruing unlawful presence. Build internal lead times that account for document collection, post-filing biometrics scheduling, and potential USCIS processing backlogs.
• Plan for processing delays. DHS projects that peak EOS filing volume will be reached approximately four years after the effective date (roughly 390,000 F-visa and 31,000 J-visa EOS filings annually). As these populations transition from D/S to fixed periods, USCIS adjudication timelines may lengthen. Premium (expedited) processing for Form I-539 is not yet available for these categories, though USCIS has indicated it may expand access.
• Coordinate with key stakeholders, including admissions, registrars, academic advisers, career strategy offices, academic departments. The new restrictions on changing educational objectives or transferring schools at the graduate level, and the requirement that students below the graduate level generally complete a first academic year before transferring, will affect the guidance and support systems of universities, employers, and J-1 sponsors.
• Train Designated School Officials, Responsible Officers, and HR/global mobility teams. Affected students and exchange visitors will need clear communication about the new fixed admission dates, the reduced 30-day grace period for F-1 students, the 24-month ELT cap, and the graduate-level transfer and educational-objective restrictions. Internal training for international student and scholar office staff, including Designated School Officials, should begin before the effective date, with reference to resources provided by DHS.

Part Two: I Nonimmigrant Representatives of Foreign Information Media

The rule also similarly places fixed periods of admission upon I visa holders, who are representatives of foreign media, including foreign news organizations, wire services, and other employers in the foreign media, press, radio, film, and print industries.

Changes for I Media Representatives

Admission period for most I visa media representatives: Similar to F and J visa holders, foreign journalists and other representatives of foreign information media holding I visa status, other than most passport holders from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), were previously admitted for D/S. I visa holders could remain in the United States indefinitely so long as they continued qualifying media employment, with no fixed end date. Under the final rule, I visa holders will now be admitted for up to 240 days (90 days for PRC passport holders), or the time needed to complete the assignment, whichever is shorter.

Extensions of stay: An I visa holder may file an EOS with USCIS on the Form I-539. Each extension grants up to another 240 days (90 days for PRC passport holders), with no limit on the number of extensions, provided the applicant continues to meet eligibility requirements. A timely filed EOS permits continued work for up to 240 days (90 days for PRC nationals) while the application remains pending; if a subsequent EOS is filed before that period concludes, the individual may remain in the United States but must stop working until the initial EOS is approved. As an alternative to filing an EOS, a media representative may depart the United States and seek admission to reenter with a new admission period.

Family members: Dependent spouse and children of I media representatives may be included on the Form I-539A, filed together with the principal’s Form I-539, and receive the same period of admission as the principal. If the principal’s stay is EOS is denied, dependents must also depart. Separate filing remains possible, but is not required.

Transition for I Media Representatives

I visa holders who are maintaining status on the rule’s effective date receive an automatic 240-day validity period (90 days for PRC passport holders), calculated from that date. Once that initial transition period expires, the individual must timely file an application with USCIS to request additional status, or otherwise depart the United States and seek readmission for a new admission period.

What Media Organizations and Sponsoring Employers Should Do Now

• Track the admission clock separately from visa validity. Begin tracking each I nonimmigrant’s specific Form I-94 “Admit Until Date.” Similar to tracking for other employment-based visas, compliance platforms should be updated to flag these dates and generate alerts well before expiration.
• Decide on an EOS or depart-and-reenter strategy in advance. For correspondents whose assignments will run beyond their initial admission period, determine early whether to file an EOS or have the individual depart and seek readmission to reenter to restart the admission clock, and if seeking EOS, build in lead time for biometrics and evidence of continuing foreign media employment.
• Train HR and global mobility teams supporting media assignments. Employers with staff supporting journalists and correspondents should understand the new fixed admission periods, the EOS process, and the consequences of allowing an admission period to lapse without a timely filed extension.

Mayer Brown will continue to monitor implementation of this final rule, including issuance of subregulatory guidance and potential litigation. We are available to assist employers, universities, exchange program sponsors, media organizations, and individuals with transition planning, filing strategies, and compliance guidance as the new framework takes effect.