DHS Final Rule – Executive Summary
A high-level overview of the Final Rule and its implications for the Penn community.
The rule is published on July 17, 2026. Its stated effective date is 60 days after publication—currently September 15, 2026—but because it is a major rule subject to congressional review, DHS says the actual effective date could be changed or the rule could be terminated through that process.
- D/S is eliminated for F, J, and I classifications
F-1/F-2, J-1/J-2, and I nonimmigrants will no longer ordinarily receive an I-94 marked “D/S.”
Instead:
• The I-94 will contain a specific admit-until date.
• F and J admission will generally be for the period shown on the I-20 or DS-2019, but no more than four years at a time.
• The dependent’s admission cannot extend beyond the principal’s authorized stay.
• Remaining beyond the I-94 expiration without a timely filing or another lawful basis may result in the accrual of unlawful presence.
- Four-year maximum admission periods for F and J
F-1 and J-1 nonimmigrants may be admitted through the program end date on the I-20 or DS-2019, but for no more than four years per admission or extension.
This means that individuals in programs lasting more than four years (including many doctoral students, J-1 research scholars, and J-1 alien physicians) will need either to:
• file an extension of stay with USCIS before the I-94 expires; or
• depart and seek readmission with updated documentation.
A school’s extension of the I-20, or a sponsor’s extension of the DS-2019, will no longer by itself extend the person’s immigration stay.
- USCIS, rather than the DSO or RO, grants the immigration extension
For F-1 students, the DSO may still determine that an academic program extension is appropriate and update the I-20. However, the rule deliberately changes the DSO’s role from “granting” a program extension to “recommending” one.
The student must then file an EOS application with USCIS, generally including:
• the designated USCIS form;
• the filing fee;
• the updated and properly endorsed I-20;
• supporting evidence; and
• biometrics, when required.
USCIS may deny the EOS even though the DSO recommended the program extension—for example, if USCIS concludes that the student did not maintain status or did not establish a qualifying academic or medical reason.
A substantially similar separation applies to J programs: the sponsor or Department of State may authorize a DS-2019 program extension, but USCIS controls the extension of the individual’s immigration stay.
- Students may continue studying while a timely EOS is pending
A student who timely files an EOS application may continue pursuing a full course of study after the I-94 expiration while USCIS adjudicates the EOS.
This protects continued enrollment during USCIS processing, but it does not always protect employment to the same extent. Employment rules vary by type of authorization and by when the EOS was filed.
- New EOS eligibility standards for continuing F-1 students
A continuing student seeking more time must establish eligibility for an extension. Acceptable circumstances may include:
• compelling academic reasons;
• documented medical reasons;
• circumstances beyond the student’s control, such as a natural disaster, pandemic, school closure, or DSO error; and
• other sufficiently compelling, fact-specific circumstances.
DHS states that delays caused by academic probation, suspension, or repeated inability or unwillingness to complete the program will generally not be acceptable reasons for an extension.
- Major restrictions on changing educational objectives
The rule defines “educational objectives” to include the student’s educational level or major.
Undergraduate and other non-graduate students
Students generally must complete the first academic year of the program at the school that issued the initial I-20 before changing educational objectives, unless SEVP grants an exception.
Graduate-level students
Students in a graduate-level program or higher are prohibited from changing educational objectives during the program.
The final rule, however, allows SEVP to grant exceptions for extenuating circumstances. Examples identified by DHS include:
• school closure;
• prolonged inability of the school to hold classes because of a natural disaster; and
• certain elementary or secondary school completion situations.
- Major restrictions on school transfers
Students generally must complete the first academic year at the school that issued the initial I-20 before transferring, unless SEVP authorizes an exception.
More significantly, a student in a graduate-level program or above may not transfer during the program, unless SEVP authorizes an exception based on extenuating circumstances.
The normal SEVIS transfer mechanics remain:
• the student notifies the transfer-out school;
• the transfer-out DSO establishes the release date;
• the transfer-out school retains SEVIS control until the release date;
• the transfer-in school receives access on the release date; and
• the student obtains a transfer-pending I-20 from the new school.
If the new program extends beyond the current I-94 expiration, the student must also file an EOS with USCIS.
- Students generally may only move to a higher educational level
After completing an F-1 program at one educational level, the person may not:
• remain in F-1 status for a program at the same or a lower level;
• leave and return in F-1 status for a same- or lower-level program; or
• obtain F-1 status through change of status for a same- or lower-level program.
The next F-1 program must generally be at a higher educational level.
This restriction applies prospectively: programs completed before the final rule’s effective date will not count for this limitation.
Examples of potentially prohibited progression after the effective date could include:
• master’s degree to a second master’s degree;
• Ph.D. to a master’s degree;
• bachelor’s degree to an associate degree; or
• completed degree to a same-level certificate treated as the same educational level.
DHS retains authority to delay or suspend implementation of the change-of-objective, transfer, and educational-level restrictions for up to two years after the effective date, with notice in the Federal Register and on the SEVP website.
- Language-training study is capped at 24 months
F-1 students in language-training programs will be limited to an aggregate of 24 months.
The 24 months include:
• study at multiple language schools;
• school breaks; and
• annual vacation periods.
This is an aggregate limit, not a fresh 24-month period each time the student transfers schools.
- F-1 departure period is reduced from 60 days to 30 days
Under the new fixed-date system, an F-1 student generally receives only 30 days after completing the program or authorized post-completion practical training to:
• depart the United States;
• transfer or begin another permitted program;
• seek a change or extension of status; or
• otherwise obtain lawful authorization to remain.
This replaces the current 60-day preparation period for people admitted under the new rule.
Early completion
When study or training ends earlier than the I-94 expiration, the student and F-2 dependents must depart or take action to maintain lawful status within 30 days of the actual end of study or training.
Status violation
A student who fails to maintain a full course of study or otherwise violates status receives no departure grace period and is expected to leave immediately.
- Post-completion OPT start-date window is shortened
The final rule changes the OPT provision so the requested post-completion OPT start date may not be more than 30 days after the program end date.
This replaces the previous regulatory reference to a start date as late as 60 days after program completion and aligns OPT with the new 30-day F-1 departure period.
- OPT and STEM OPT may require two USCIS filings
When the student’s current I-94 does not cover the requested OPT or STEM OPT period, the student may need to file:
1. an employment-authorization application; and
2. an extension-of-stay application.
- Existing 180-day STEM OPT employment extension remains
The rule does not eliminate the existing provision allowing an eligible student with a timely filed STEM OPT application to continue employment for up to 180 days after the post-completion OPT EAD expires while the STEM application remains pending.
The student may nevertheless need an EOS filing if the I-94 expires and the transition relief does not apply.
- Cap-gap protection remains, with revised fixed-date language
The rule preserves cap-gap protection for qualifying F-1 students who are beneficiaries of cap-subject H-1B petitions.
The regulation provides an automatic extension of F-1 stay and, when applicable, OPT employment authorization until:
• the approved H-1B petition’s validity start date; or
• April 1 of the fiscal year for which H-1B status is requested,
whichever is earlier.
The major textual change is removal of references to D/S so the cap-gap mechanism functions under fixed admission dates.
- Employment while an F-1 EOS is pending
A timely filed EOS places the student in an authorized period of stay until USCIS decides the application.
The final rule generally permits automatic continuation for up to 240 days after the I-94 expiration for certain existing employment, including:
• on-campus employment;
• authorized CPT; and
• severe-economic-hardship employment.
However, this protection is subject to detailed conditions. Importantly, if the student files during the 30-day grace period, rather than before the admission period expires, the student does not receive automatic continuation of on-campus, CPT, or hardship employment and must await approval before working.
- Departure while an EOS is pending does not always have the same result
The rule creates a more nuanced travel framework.
When a person departs with a pending EOS and seeks readmission:
• CBP may issue a new fixed admission period based on the current I-20 or DS-2019.
• If CBP grants the new program-based period, USCIS may treat the pending EOS as unnecessary or abandoned.
• In certain cases, CBP may readmit the person only for the remaining portion of the previous admission period, allowing the EOS to remain pending.
• Travelers should be prepared to present the USCIS receipt notice for the timely filed EOS.
Travel will therefore require close review of:
• the existing I-94 expiration;
• the requested EOS period;
• the latest I-20 or DS-2019;
• visa validity; and
• the intended admission period being requested from CBP.
- Automatic visa revalidation provisions are updated
The rule updates and clarifies the admission standards for F and J nonimmigrants using automatic visa revalidation after an absence of no more than 30 days solely in:
• Canada or Mexico; or
• qualifying adjacent islands, where applicable.
Because D/S is eliminated, CBP will need to issue or recognize a fixed period of admission under the revised provisions.
- Transition rules for people already in D/S
The transition provisions apply principally to F, J, and I nonimmigrants who:
• are physically present in the United States on the effective date;
• were admitted for D/S; and
• are properly maintaining status.
F and J transition period
A person already in valid D/S generally may remain until the earlier of:
• the program or authorized activity end date shown on the I-20 or DS-2019, together with the existing transition departure period; or
• four years after the rule’s effective date.
Thus, a continuing student is not necessarily required to file an EOS immediately on the effective date.
However, travel abroad during the transition period triggers the new fixed-date regime. Upon readmission, CBP will issue an I-94 with a specific expiration date.
Pending OPT applications on the effective date
Certain F-1 students admitted for D/S who already have pending post-completion OPT or STEM OPT applications on the effective date may remain while USCIS adjudicates those applications without separately refiling an EOS, unless USCIS directs otherwise.
People outside the United States
The transition protections do not apply to people who are outside the United States when the rule becomes effective. Their next admission will be under the fixed-date system.
They also do not protect individuals who are already violating status.
- Unlawful-presence consequences become more immediate
Under D/S, unlawful-presence calculations have historically involved special rules because the I-94 had no expiration date.
Under the new system, a person generally begins accruing unlawful presence after:
• the fixed I-94 expiration;
• denial of an EOS, where no other authorized stay exists; or
• another event ending the authorized period.
DHS states that the new unlawful-presence framework will not be applied retroactively merely because the person previously held D/S. Nevertheless, individuals whose programs have already ended when the rule becomes effective require careful review, particularly if they have not filed for OPT, STEM OPT, reinstatement, extension, or change of status.
- J-1 admission and extension rules
J-1 exchange visitors will be admitted through the DS-2019 program end date for no more than four years at a time.
Longer J categories will therefore require an EOS filing even when Department of State rules permit a longer overall program, such as:
• five-year research scholar programs; and
• seven-year alien physician programs.
The J-1/J-2 departure period remains 30 days. The final rule clarifies that this also applies when a program is shortened or ends early: the J-1 and J-2 dependents must depart or seek another lawful basis within 30 days of the revised program end date.
- J-1 activity and employment while EOS is pending
For an initial implementation period, J-1 exchange visitors who properly file EOS applications by the date falling 244 days after publication may continue activities consistent with the exchange program—including authorized training—while the EOS remains pending, subject to the DS-2019 and subsequent-extension requirements.
DHS may extend this temporary accommodation.
- J reporting deadlines are clarified and shortened for sponsors
The rule provides that:
• J exchange visitors must report address or legal-name changes within 10 calendar days.
• The RO must update SEVIS within 10 business days, replacing the previous DHS regulatory reference to 21 days and aligning the rule with Department of State regulations.
• Obsolete language concerning non-SEVIS programs is removed because SEVIS participation is mandatory.
- Dependents must track the principal’s fixed stay
F-2 and J-2 dependents cannot receive an admission period beyond that of the F-1 or J-1 principal.
When the principal must file an EOS, dependents must generally be included in or file the appropriate extension application. Early completion or shortening of the principal’s program also starts the applicable 30-day departure period for eligible dependents.
- Biometrics may be required
F, J, and I nonimmigrants filing EOS applications may be required to appear for biometrics under 8 CFR 103.16.
This may apply not only to the principal but also to dependents included in the extension process, depending on USCIS forms and instructions.
EOS denial has immediate consequences
When USCIS denies an EOS:
• the person must stop any employment or activity that depended on the pending extension;
• there is generally no additional grace period solely because the EOS was pending;
• departure may be required immediately; and
• unlawful presence may generally begin accruing the following day, absent another lawful basis.
- EOS denial has immediate consequences
When USCIS denies an EOS:
• the person must stop any employment or activity that depended on the pending extension;
• there is generally no additional grace period solely because the EOS was pending;
• departure may be required immediately; and
• unlawful presence may generally begin accruing the following day, absent another lawful basis.