F-1 four-year limit: how the end of duration of status works, what an extension needs and who is in the transition group

A final rule effective 15 September 2026 ended "duration of status" for new F-1 admissions. An F-1 student is now admitted for the length of the program on the Form I-20, up to 4 years, with 30 days afterward. A student who needs more time files an extension of stay with USCIS before the admission period ends. Students admitted before 15 September 2026 are covered by a separate transition rule.

For more than forty years, an F-1 international student was admitted to the United States for "duration of status." The Form I-94 did not carry an end date. The student could stay as long as they kept studying full-time at a certified school, plus a short period afterward. On 17 July 2026 DHS published a final rule (91 FR 44976, Federal Register document 2026-14439) that ends that practice. Its summary says DHS is "amending its regulations to change the admission period in the F, J, and I classifications from duration of status to an admission for a fixed time period, and additional changes to admission and extension requirements."

The rule's effective date is 15 September 2026. The Federal Register notice adds that it "has been classified as a major rule subject to congressional review," and that "at the conclusion of the congressional review, if the effective date has been changed, DHS will publish a document in the Federal Register to establish the actual effective date or to terminate the rule." The regulation text in the eCFR for 1 October 2026 already contains the new rules, which is the version summarized here.

This page explains how the fixed period works for F-1 students, what an extension of stay is, who falls under the transition rule, and what else the rule changed. It describes the regulation. It does not tell any student which situation they are in, whether to file, or what to do about a particular date; that depends on the Form I-94, the Form I-20 and the person's history, and a lawyer or a school's designated school official (DSO) works from the documents. The proposed OPT fee is a separate topic, covered on our page on the proposed $70,000 OPT fee.

The new rule in one paragraph: a fixed admission period

The core text is 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(i): "An F-1 student is admitted for a fixed period of time, which is the period necessary to complete the course of study indicated on the Form I-20, or successor form, not to exceed a period of 4 years, plus additional times noted in this paragraph (f)(5)(i)." The student may also be admitted "for a period of up to 30 days before the indicated report date or program start date," and may remain "for an additional 30 days" afterward. The 30 days before the start and the 30 days after the end "do not count toward the maximum length of stay."

Put simply: the admission end date is now on the I-94 record. The student's status is tied to that date, to the program end date on the Form I-20 and to the 4-year ceiling, whichever comes first. A program longer than four years, a slower-than-planned degree or an added program needs an extension of stay (below).

Exceptions in the same paragraph:

Students in an English language training program are limited to a maximum admission period of 24 months, plus 30 days.
Students at a public high school (including charter schools and similar schools funded by US taxpayers) are limited to an aggregate of 12 months, including breaks.
Border commuter students (Canadian and Mexican nationals) follow the rules in paragraph (f)(18).
An F-2 dependent's authorized stay "may not exceed the authorized period of stay of the principal F-1 student."

The preamble gives the reason as oversight: admission for duration of status "does not afford immigration officers enough predetermined opportunities to directly verify that aliens granted such nonimmigrant statuses are engaging only in those activities their respective classifications authorize." It notes that there were 1,816,480 admissions in F-1 status in fiscal year 2024.

The 30-day period after study or OPT

The rule shortens the period after study. 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(v) says a student who has completed a course of study and any authorized practical training "will be allowed an additional 30-day period" from the program end date, the 4-year maximum, or the end date of approved employment authorization for post-completion OPT or STEM OPT, whichever applies, "to prepare for departure from the United States, or to otherwise seek to maintain lawful status, including timely filing an extension of stay application ... or timely filing a change of status application."

Three related rules in the same paragraph:

If the student ends study or training before the admission period expires, they must "within 30 days from the end date of the study or training, depart the United States or otherwise seek to maintain lawful status."
A student whom the DSO authorizes to withdraw from classes "will be allowed a 15-day period from the date of the withdrawal to depart the United States."
A student who "fails to maintain a full course of study or otherwise fails to maintain status is not eligible for any additional period of time for departure and must leave the country immediately."

Under the earlier rules, the period after study was 60 days. Our page on the 30-day F-1 grace period covers that change. The transition group (below) keeps a 60-day departure period.

Extension of stay: when it is needed and what it asks for

A student who cannot finish by the end of the admission period applies to USCIS for an extension of stay. 8 CFR 214.2(f)(7)(i) says USCIS "may grant" an extension to a student who has maintained status but cannot complete the program in time, if the DSO issues a new Form I-20 and the student:

"Has continually maintained lawful status";
"Is currently pursuing a full course of study"; and
has either a currently issued Form I-20 showing additional time left to complete the program, or documents showing the request rests on one of three grounds: a compelling academic reason (such as a change of major or research topic, or unexpected research problems), a documented medical reason, or circumstances beyond the student's control (such as a natural disaster, a national health crisis or a school closure).

The regulation lists what does not count: "Delays including, but not limited to, those caused by academic probation or suspension or a student's repeated inability or unwillingness to complete his or her course of study are not acceptable reasons for an extension."

How to file. The student files the extension application on the form USCIS designates, with the endorsed Form I-20, evidence of sufficient funds, biometrics if required and the fee (214.2(f)(7)(iii)). The form is the Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, Form I-539, and the fee in 8 CFR 106.2(a)(26) is $470 (as at 10 October 2026). Check the USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055) before paying. The student "must never have engaged in any unauthorized employment."

When to file. An extension application "is considered timely filed if the receipt date ... is on or before the date the authorized period of stay expires, which includes the 30-day period." The regulation adds that "USCIS must receive the extension of stay application on or before the expiration of the previously authorized period of stay." If the application is received during the 30-day period, the student "is authorized to continue a full course of study but may not continue or begin engaging in practical training or other employment."

While it is pending. A student who timely filed is "considered to be in a period of authorized stay" until USCIS decides (214.2(f)(5)(viii)). On-campus, curricular practical training and severe-economic-hardship employment continue automatically, but only up to 240 days from the end of the admission period, and an application filed during the 30-day period gets no automatic employment extension.

If it is denied. "If an F-1 student's extension of stay application is denied and the F-1 student's authorized admission period has expired, the F-1 student and his or her dependents must immediately depart the United States" (214.2(f)(7)(vii)).

If the school's date was late. If the DSO extends the program end date in SEVIS after the date on the Form I-20 has passed, the student needs "a request for reinstatement of F-1 status ... with the required fee" (214.2(f)(7)(viii)).

Students already in the United States: the transition rule

The rule does not put every current student on a clock starting 15 September 2026. 8 CFR 214.1(m)(1) covers "Aliens with F or J status who are properly maintaining their status on September 15, 2026, and who were admitted for duration of status." They may remain until the later of the expiration date on an Employment Authorization Document or the program end date on their Form I-20 or DS-2019, "not to exceed a period of 4 years from September 15, 2026, plus the departure period of 60 days for F nonimmigrants, which is November 14, 2030."

The preamble describes how this works: "During the 4-year transition period, F or J nonimmigrants in D/S on the day the rule takes effect do not need to have their Form I-94 corrected to a date certain, provided they continue their studies or programs listed on their DS-2019s or I-20s." It adds a condition: "should these F and J nonimmigrants decide to travel abroad during this transition period, they will be issued a new I-94 with a date certain upon their return, as will all other F and J nonimmigrants."

Two features matter for OPT:

A student recommended for post-completion OPT or STEM OPT who files a Form I-765 "on or before March 18, 2027" is "not required to file" a Form I-539 for the OPT period (214.1(m)(1)(i)). DHS reserved the right to extend that date "in 6-month increments by publication of a notification in the Federal Register" (214.1(m)(1)(iii)).
A student in this group who leaves the United States before filing the OPT application, and is then admitted with a fixed period, must file both the Form I-765 and a Form I-539 (214.1(m)(1)(ii)).

Pending work-permit applications filed before 15 September 2026 do not need to be refiled unless USCIS asks (214.1(m)(2)). Whether a particular person is "properly maintaining" status on that date, and what travel would do to their record, are questions for the DSO and an attorney on the facts.

Other changes in the same rule: transfers and changing levels

Alongside the fixed period, 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(ii) restricts changes of program:

Below the graduate level, a student "may not transfer or change educational objectives, i.e., majors or educational levels, within the first academic year of a program of study, unless an exception is authorized by SEVP for extenuating circumstances."
A student at the graduate level or above "may not change educational objectives at any point during their program of study," and may not transfer unless SEVP authorizes an exception.
A student who has completed a program after 15 September 2026 at one level "may not maintain, be admitted, or otherwise be provided F-1 status through a program at the same educational level or a lower educational level."
Moving up to a higher level is allowed: a student who completed one level and begins a program at a higher level "is considered to be maintaining F-1 status if otherwise complying."

Paragraph (f)(5)(ii)(E) allows DHS to "delay or suspend" implementing the transfer and change-of-objective restrictions until 14 September 2028 if it decides they are infeasible, by notice in the Federal Register and on the Study in the States website. So the first-year and graduate-level limits may not be applied in full yet; check the SEVP site and the DSO.

Practical training rules are unchanged in substance: 214.2(f)(10) still allows 12 months of practical training, "another 12 months" at a higher level, and a 24-month STEM extension, with post-completion OPT done within a 14-month window. What changed is that post-completion OPT beyond the admission period has to be paired with an extension of stay, or with admission through CBP after travel, unless the transition exception applies.

J-1 and I classifications, briefly

The same rule covers J exchange visitors and I representatives of foreign information media. The summary calls the rule one that changes "the admission period in the F, J, and I classifications." The transition rule gives J-1 holders in the transition group until the program end date on the DS-2019, not to exceed 4 years from 15 September 2026 plus a 30-day departure period (October 15, 2030), and I holders a shorter transition (214.1(m)(1) and (3)). This page does not explain the J program rules, which are set by the State Department and the program sponsor as well as by DHS.

Where F-1 date steps go wrong, from the rules

Reading the Form I-20 end date and the I-94 date as the same thing. The admission period is the I-94 date, the program end date and the 4-year cap, whichever is earliest, plus the 30 days.
Filing an extension too late. USCIS must receive the application on or before the expiration of the authorized stay, including the 30 days, not just have it mailed by then.
Filing in the 30-day period and assuming work can continue. Practical training and employment may not continue or begin until approval.
Using academic probation or repeated failure to finish as the stated reason for more time. The regulation names them as unacceptable reasons.
Travelling during the transition period without understanding that re-entry produces a fixed-date I-94 and may change the filing requirements for OPT.
Treating the transfer and change-of-level limits as definitely in force or definitely suspended. DHS may delay them until 14 September 2028 and says it will announce any delay.
Relying on a school's general comments instead of the regulation and the student's own documents. The DSO is a school employee who works from SEVIS; a licensed attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative gives legal advice. Our page on who can give immigration advice explains the difference.

Finding a licensed attorney or accredited representative

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Questions people ask

Is the F-1 duration of status really ending?

Yes, for new admissions. DHS's final rule (91 FR 44976) changes F, J and I admission from duration of status to a fixed time period, effective 15 September 2026, subject to congressional review. 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(i) says an F-1 student is now "admitted for a fixed period of time" of the program length, "not to exceed a period of 4 years."

What if my program is longer than four years?

The admission period is capped at 4 years, so a student whose program runs longer must apply to USCIS for an extension of stay before the admission period ends (214.2(f)(7)). The application needs a new Form I-20 from the DSO, evidence of funds and the fee. The regulation does not promise approval.

How much does an F-1 extension of stay cost?

Form I-539 is $470 in 8 CFR 106.2(a)(26) as at 10 October 2026, with biometrics where required. Check the USCIS fee schedule (G-1055) before paying, because amounts change.

I was admitted for duration of status before 15 September 2026. Does the four-year limit apply to me?

A separate transition rule, 8 CFR 214.1(m)(1), covers F and J holders properly maintaining status on 15 September 2026. It lets them stay until the later of the EAD or program end date, not to exceed 4 years from 15 September 2026 plus 60 days (14 November 2030 for F-1). Travelling abroad in that period leads to a fixed-date I-94 on return.

How long do I have after graduation or OPT?

For a student admitted under the new rule, 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(v) allows 30 days from the program end date, the 4-year maximum or the end of OPT or STEM OPT, to depart or to seek to maintain status. Students in the transition group have 60 days. A student who fails to maintain status gets no extra time.

Can I still change my major or transfer schools?

The rule restricts it. Below graduate level, transfers and changes within the first academic year need an SEVP exception; graduate students may not change educational objectives, and transfers need an exception. DHS may delay these provisions until 14 September 2028 by Federal Register notice, so check with the DSO for the current position.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-10.

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