Duration of Status Rule on Hold: What the Court’s Decision Means for International Students

For international students and exchange visitors in the United States, knowing how long you are permitted to stay is central to planning your studies, research, and career. This fall, that question became the focus of a major legal challenge. On September 14, 2026, just one day before it was scheduled to take effect, a federal court blocked a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule that would have ended the longstanding “duration of status” system. The rule is now on hold while litigation continues, and the current framework remains in place.

Under the existing system, eligible F and J students and scholars may remain in the United States for the length of their academic program, research activity, or practical training, as long as they continue to maintain their immigration status. On July 17, 2026, DHS published a final rule that would replace this flexible approach with fixed periods of admission for F, J, and I visa holders, with an effective date of September 15. In response, a coalition of higher education associations and unions, led by the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration and NAFSA: Association of International Educators, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts on August 18 and asked the court to pause the rule.

The court granted that request. In issuing a nationwide preliminary injunction, Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV found that the government’s justifications for the rule were arbitrary and capricious and that allowing it to take effect would cause immediate harm. It is important to understand what this decision does and does not mean. A preliminary injunction is a temporary measure, not a final ruling. It prevents DHS from implementing or enforcing the rule until the court says otherwise, but the case is still moving forward, and the rule could take effect in the future if the injunction is lifted or overturned on appeal.

If the rule is ultimately allowed to proceed, the changes would be significant. New students and scholars would receive a fixed admission period based on the length of their program, capped at four years, and anyone needing additional time would have to apply to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for an extension of stay. The rule would also introduce new restrictions on changing majors or education levels, shorten the F-1 post-program grace period from 60 days to 30 days for new admissions, and apply similar fixed admission and extension requirements to F-2 and J-2 dependents. Students and scholars already in the United States when the rule takes effect would be phased in more gradually. However, international travel could change that, since anyone who leaves and reenters the United States after the rule takes effect would be admitted under the new fixed period.

At The Evaluation Company (TEC), formerly known as SpanTran, we understand how much uncertainty like this can affect your plans. For more than four decades, we have provided foreign academic credential evaluations and translations for university admission, employment, professional licensure, and immigration-related purposes, and we are trusted by universities, licensing boards, employers, and government agencies across the country. We will continue monitoring this case and other developments that affect international applicants and the institutions that serve them.