United States: DHS Issues Final Rule Replacing Admission for Duration of Status with Fixed Periods of Stay for F, J, and I Nonimmigrants

While most nonimmigrants are admitted to the United States until a specific date, F, J, and I nonimmigrants have long been admitted for the duration of the individual’s status in that visa classification.

For F-1 students, duration of status has been considered the time it took the individual to complete their academic program and any post-completion optional practical training (OPT), plus a 60-day grace period. For J-1 exchange visitors, duration of status has been treated as the time it took the individual to complete their J-1 program, plus a 30-day grace period. And for I nonimmigrants, duration of status has generally been considered the duration of the foreign media representative’s assignment/employment in the United States.

Nonimmigrants admitted for duration of status are not required to apply for an extension of stay with USCIS if their program or employment lasts longer than initially anticipated. For Fs and Js, the sponsoring educational institution or exchange program has been able to extend the student’s or exchange visitor’s ability to remain in the United States simply by issuing a revised Form I-20 or DS-2019 with a later program completion date, and foreign media representatives in I status have generally been permitted to remain in the United States as long as they remain employed in their qualifying employment.

The new rule ends this longstanding practice of admitting F, J, and I nonimmigrants for duration of status and brings these classifications in line with other nonimmigrant categories, by subjecting them to defined periods of stay and requiring them to apply to USCIS for extensions of status if they wish to remain in the United States beyond that defined period.

The new F, J, and I admission periods are as follows:

• F-1s and their dependents: F-1 principals and their dependents will generally be admitted for up to the length of the principal’s program, including any periods of post-completion practical training, not to exceed four years, plus a 30-day grace period (reduced from the previous 60-day grace period). Special rules will apply to foreign nationals enrolled in English language programs or attending public high school and border commuter students, who will be limited to shorter admission periods.
• J-1s and their dependents: J-1 principals and their dependents will be admitted for up to the length of the principal’s program, not to exceed four years, plus a 30-day grace period.
• I nonimmigrants and their dependents: I nonimmigrants and their dependents will be admitted for a period of time necessary for the I principal to complete their assignment, not to exceed 240 days, unless they hold a passport issued by the People’s Republic of China (other than Hong Kong or Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) passports), in which case their period of admission cannot exceed 90 days.

F-1s and J-1s will continue to be eligible to be admitted into the United States up to 30 days before their program start date, and the 30-day grace period after program completion will be reflected on the foreign national’s I-94 admission document. Neither 30-day period counts against the four-year maximum admission period.

If F, J, or I nonimmigrants require additional time beyond their defined admission period for any reason – whether to extend their program or employment, transfer schools, undertake a new degree program, or undertake or extend post-completion OPT – they will need to apply for an extension of stay with USCIS and may be required to complete biometrics screening. Under special transition rules, however, existing F-1s who have a pending application for post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) or STEM OPT employment authorization when the regulation takes effect, or who file such an application within six months of the regulation’s effective date, will not be required to file a separate extension of F-1 status.

The rules governing the duration of approved extensions mirror the rules above for the initial admission periods. In order for an extension of F-1 status to be approved, the foreign national will need to present either a currently issued Form I-20 indicating that additional time is needed to complete their program or documentation demonstrating compelling academic reasons (e.g., change of major or research topic, unexpected research problems, etc.); illness; or other circumstances beyond the foreign national’s control (e.g., natural disaster, national health crisis, closure of institution).

F, J, and I nonimmigrants who hold valid employment authorization and timely apply for an extension of stay can benefit from an automatic extension of their employment authorization, as follows:

• F-1 students who timely apply for a STEM OPT extension will continue to receive an automatic 180-day extension of their employment authorization; this auto-extension is unchanged by the new regulation.
• F-1 students holding employment authorization for on-campus employment, curricular practical training (CPT), or due to economic hardship are eligible for a new automatic extension of employment authorization of up to 240 days upon timely filing of an extension of stay.
• J and I nonimmigrants will continue to benefit from existing rules that provide a 240-day automatic extension of employment authorization upon the timely filing of an extension of stay.

The regulation also results in a change to current policies on how and when F, J, and I nonimmigrants begin accruing unlawful presence, for purposes of the three- and ten-year bars applicable to foreign nationals who have been unlawfully present in the United States for over 180 days or over one year.

Under longstanding policy, F, J, and I nonimmigrants were only considered to begin accruing unlawful presence if USCIS or an immigration judge formally found that the individual had violated their nonimmigrant status. Under the new rule, however, F, J, and I nonimmigrants will generally begin accruing unlawful presence as soon as their specified admission period expires, as is currently the case for other nonimmigrant categories.

The final rule contains special transition provisions for the treatment of foreign nationals who were admitted for duration of status prior to the effective date of the rule and who are present in the United States in valid F, J, or I status when the rule takes effect.

In general, foreign nationals in F or J status on the effective date of the rule will be authorized to remain in the United States until the later of the end date of their existing I-20 or DS-2019 or the expiration date of any OPT Employment Authorization Document (EAD), but not to exceed four years from the effective date of the rule, plus a grace period of 60 days for Fs and 30 days for Js.

Foreign nationals maintaining I status on the effective date of the rule will be authorized to remain in the United States for a period necessary to complete their activity, not to exceed 240 days from the effective date of the rule, or, for PRC China passport holders (other than Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR passport holders), not to exceed 90 days from the effective date of the rule.

If a foreign national requires additional time, beyond the admission period specified in the transition rules, they would be required to apply for an extension of stay pursuant to the new rules.

In addition to imposing finite admission periods for F, J, and I nonimmigrants, the new regulation makes the following additional changes to these programs:

• Shorter grace periods for F-1s: The final rule replaces the current 60-day grace period for F-1s with a 30-day grace period. The grace period is available so that students can prepare to depart the United States or apply for an extension or change of status, following the completion of their educational program or practical training.
• Restrictions on F-1s changing programs and majors: Under the new regulation, F-1 undergraduates are prohibited from changing programs, majors, or education levels within the first year of their program, unless ICE’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) allows an exception for extenuating circumstances (e.g., school closure, a prolonged inability to hold classes due to a natural disaster, or a need to change schools to complete elementary or secondary education). In addition, the regulation precludes F-1 graduate students from changing programs, majors, or educational levels, though transfers may be permitted in extenuating circumstances. If a foreign national completes a program at a particular level, they will not be eligible for F-1 status to undertake a program at the same level or a lower level.
• International travel while extension pending: Depending on the type of documentation presented at the port of entry, F, J, and I foreign nationals who travel while an extension is pending may either be readmitted for the balance left on their previous admission period, or for the extended period requested on the pending extension application. In the former scenario, the pending extension will not be considered abandoned due to travel, but in the latter scenario, the pending extension request will be deemed abandoned as no longer necessary.
• International travel while change of status pending: The final rule codifies DHS’s longstanding policy that a change of status application will be deemed abandoned if the foreign national travels outside the United States while the application is pending.
• Scope of I classification defined: For purposes of qualifying as a representative of foreign media, the regulation clarifies that a foreign media organization must have its home office in a foreign country and must be engaged in the regular gathering, production, or dissemination of journalistic information. The commentary to the final rule confirms that activities pursued for entertainment purposes, such as performing or appearing on reality television programs, generally do not qualify for I classification.

With no explanation in its preamble, the proposed rule would have eliminated DHS’s regulation directing USCIS officers to give deference to previous I-129 temporary worker petition approvals involving the same parties and the same underlying facts when adjudicating extensions of stay and other types of I-129 filings. This deference regulation had been added as part of the H-1B modernization rule that took effect in January 2025, codifying a longstanding policy that had been suspended during the first Trump Administration.  

In the commentary to the final rule, DHS clarified that the proposed revisions to the regulatory language were not intended to eliminate the existing deference regulation, and the final text of the regulation leaves the existing deference regulation in place; however, DHS could seek to revise or eliminate the deference policy in future rulemaking.

The elimination of duration of status admissions and the associated requirement to apply for extensions of stay will create significant new compliance and administrative responsibilities for affected foreign nationals and their schools, exchange program sponsors, and employers.

In addition, the new regulation will result in a significant increase in the number of applications to extend nonimmigrant status filed with USCIS, exacerbating existing USCIS processing delays.

Some of the changes put in place by the final regulation will require updates to SEVIS.

Fragomen is closely following the implementation of this rule and will provide updates.