Duration of Status Elimination Rule

Policy Brief

What is Happening?

• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has finalized a new regulation that will eliminate Duration of Status (D/S) for international students on F visas, exchange visitors on J visas, and representatives of foreign media on I visas.
• Once implemented, this new rule will make it significantly harder for international students to stay in the U.S. to continue or complete their studies and to contribute to the U.S. workforce after graduation.
• Under the new D/S rule, international students and exchange visitors (including professors and research scholars) will be admitted to the U.S. for a fixed period of admission, determined by the duration of their approved program, not to exceed four years.
• In order to remain in the U.S. longer than four years, whether that be to finish their program, participate in post-graduation practical training, or transition to a different immigration status, students will need to first apply for extension of stay (EOS), which requires additional fees, biometrics,¹ and potentially an interview, plus approval by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
• This is a significant change from the current long-standing policy, under which students are admitted for "duration of status," meaning they can remain in the U.S. as long as they maintain their status. This allowed students to remain for the full duration of their programs, even if those programs lasted longer than four years, and transition easily to other educational programs or into post-graduation training.
• The is scheduled to go into effect on September 15, 2026, which is 60 days after the rule was officially published in the Federal Register.

What Impact Will This Have?

The new Duration of Status rule risks numerous harmful consequences on the higher education system and the U.S. economy, including:

• Making the U.S. a less attractive destination for international students. International student enrollment in the U.S. has rapidly declined, falling by 20% this year compared to last. Other countries such as Canada, the U.K., and Australia, as well as China, have been actively competing for this population and winning more of it. If this pattern continues, it will jeopardize decades of progress in securing the U.S.'s role as the world's top higher education destination. Significant declines in international enrollment will lead to reduced course offerings, cuts to critical research projects, and even school closures, job losses, and a less educated American workforce.
• Making it harder for employers to recruit U.S.-educated talent. Employers often hire international graduates because they are U.S.-trained and can often begin gaining practical experience through Optional Practical Training (OPT). Adding barriers to OPT disrupts that pipeline. Employers who cannot reliably hire and retain international graduates will move work and jobs outside the United States.
• Increasing the burden on students to remain in status, and on the government to process even more applications. USCIS processing times are consistently slow and unpredictable; currently, processing backlogs and delays are increasing rapidly. Requiring students to file for extensions multiplies the opportunities for delays, errors, and denials, and also increases the workload for federal agencies without a clear benefit.
  • Students whose EOS applications are denied are immediately rendered out of status, with unlawful presence accruing from that point forward, even though the denial may reflect delay or agency error rather than any fault of the student's.
• Imposing massive, ongoing costs on universities, students, and the government. DHS's final Regulatory Impact Analysis reveals a daunting price tag: the total cost of this rule is at least $3.2 billion over ten years, or at least $443.1 million every year, indefinitely.
  • DHS estimates that international office staff will spend approximately 135 hours in the first year adjusting to the increased workload. DHS's own final Regulatory Impact Analysis estimates that familiarization, adaptation, and advising costs to institutions could reach $267.9 million across the sector in the first year alone.
  • Students themselves bear a direct, recurring cost: DHS anticipates hundreds of thousands of EOS filings every year. A single EOS filing can cost a student more than $1,000, including a $470 filing fee and mandatory biometrics travel and processing costs, plus nearly $500 more in legal or third-party assistance for the nearly half of applicants DHS itself expects will need it.
  • Even DHS concedes that its own cost estimate is incomplete: DHS states outright that it has not quantified the costs to U.S. universities that may be impacted by reductions in international student enrollment, including lost tuition revenue.
  • International students are already among the most heavily tracked and vetted visitors to the United States. This rule will only add more red tape to an already heavily restricted system, at a time when USCIS is being crushed by ever-increasing delays and backlogs.
• Compounding the harms of the broader efforts to reduce legal immigration. The D/S rule is just one of many recent attempts to restrict and reduce legal immigration, alongside the new Adjustment of Status policy, $100k H-1B fee, restrictions on work permit renewals, attacks on DACA and TPS, and student visa delays and denials. Taken together, these policies are making it harder for people who have done everything right to stay in this country, work, and contribute to our communities.

International Students Are Good for America

• International students and graduates are critical to the STEM workforce and entrepreneurship. International students drive innovation by performing essential work in university labs and classrooms and contributing to American companies while working on OPT. Tens of thousands of international students are positioned to graduate with degrees related to key fields like AI and semiconductors each year. In addition, a quarter of the U.S. billion-dollar start-up companies were founded by a former international student, who each created an average of 860 jobs.
• International students and graduates reduce the trade deficit, grow the economy, and create jobs. As the International Trade Administration (ITA) under the Department of Commerce points out, international students' spending in the U.S. is considered a trade export, counting as income for the U.S. and reducing the trade deficit. In the first nine months of the Trump administration, international students accounted for $42.6 billion, or 23% of total travel exports, including tuition, housing, health care, and other spending during their studies, according to the ITA. In the 2024-2025 school year, international students contributed a combined $42.9 billion to the economy and supported more than 355,000 jobs across the U.S., and when international graduates stay in the U.S. long-term and work, they create jobs, start new businesses, and raise wages for U.S.-born workers.
• Hosting international students is a strategic part of our foreign policy. International education has long been acknowledged as a critical soft power tool cultivating global collaboration and networks. Educational institutions play an important role in projecting the U.S.' influence. When international students return to their home countries or move abroad after being educated in the U.S., they have the potential to act as ambassadors for the U.S. and its higher education system, strengthening ties with other nations. As of October 2025, 66 world leaders from 59 countries had been educated in the U.S.
• International students benefit U.S.-born students. A 2025 Brookings analysis found that, because international tuition is often more than triple the in-state rate, even a modest enrollment drop can create significant budget shortfalls, with smaller and specialized institutions facing the greatest risk. International students' participation in U.S. education is a force multiplier and actually increases the enrollment of domestic students. Universities are also able to support bigger and better graduate programs and research efforts as foreign-born individuals not only enroll in the programs but also serve as faculty and postdoctoral researchers, particularly in science and engineering fields. International students also bring diverse viewpoints and cultural backgrounds to their colleges and universities that expand the perspectives of all students.