5 Things To Know About New International Student Visa Limits

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Tomorrow, more than a year after the Department of Homeland Security first proposed a rule limiting how long international students can stay in the U.S., that rule is finally slated to go into effect. Any international student who begins their studies after Sept. 15 can only stay in the country for four years, ending a nearly 50-year-old policy allowing students to stay until their studies are concluded.

And though students can apply for extensions, experts say they’re concerned about how easy that process will be to navigate. The applications are also expected to pose a significant administrative burden to institutions’ international services offices and to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which will evaluate the requests. Colleges and universities anticipate the limits will lead the number of international students in the U.S. to decline further; some have already reported that incoming international students this fall have withdrawn out of concern about the regulation.

The Department of Homeland Security has said that the policy change, which the first Trump administration also attempted to implement, aims to improve national security and reduce the number of international student overstays.

A group of higher education associations is currently suing to vacate the rule, or at least block it temporarily. A federal judge held a hearing Sept. 3 and expressed skepticism about the department’s justification for the change but hasn’t ruled yet. Here are five key things to know about the rule.

1. What’s Changing?

When international students first began coming to the U.S. in significant numbers, they were admitted for one year and could extend their F-1 immigration status annually. (Immigration status—one’s legal standing to stay in the country—is different from the visa itself, which is the document that allows someone to enter the country.)

But in 1979, the federal government changed the rules so international students could remain in the country until their studies were completed—a period known as “duration of status.” That policy was extended in 1991 to J-1 visa holders, the visa designation that encompasses many types of exchange students and scholars, such as doctors completing their residencies and foreign journalists.

Under the new regulation, students’ paperwork will now be marked with what is known as an Admit Until Date—either the last day of their program or four years after their arrival, whichever is sooner. That’s a major problem, critics argue, because many students require more than four years to complete their degrees, including the vast majority of Ph.D. students.

The regulation also decreases the grace period during which F-1 students can stay in the country after their status ends from 60 days to 30 days. Students who stay in the country for too long past that grace period can be banned from the U.S. for a period of time.

2. How Do Extensions Work?

Because almost all Ph.D. programs and some undergraduate programs take longer than four years by nature, many students will likely file extension requests every year. DHS estimates 460,000 requests annually, about half from F-1 students and half from J-1 visa holders. Students interested in pursuing optional practical training, the program that allows F-1 students to work in the U.S. after they graduate, will also have to receive status extensions—on top of being approved for OPT itself.

Extension applications cost $400 apiece, and USCIS officers will decide whether to grant the requests. The rule lists three acceptable reasons for an extension—“compelling academic reasons,” medical reasons or “exceptional circumstances beyond the control of the alien”—and clarifies that struggles to make academic progress, such as failing multiple classes, would not qualify. Decisions cannot be appealed.

Until students start applying for extensions, it’s hard to know how strict USCIS will be with granting them. Some experts have expressed concern that the officers evaluating these requests won’t understand the intricacies of students’ progress and how long different degree programs realistically take to complete.

The extension requests will also add to USCIS’s already extensive backlog; processing times currently average over a year. The regulation allows students to continue their studies and/or employment for up to 240 days while the application is pending, but critics warn that some cases will likely take longer. And if the extension is denied, students must leave the country immediately.

3. What Happens to Current Students?

Students operating under the old duration-of-status rule—that’s anyone who entered before Sept. 15 and is in the country on that date—won’t lose their status just because they’ve been in the U.S. for more than four years.

But when their program reaches the end date marked in their documents, they will have to file an extension to study longer in the U.S., enter a new academic program or enter OPT. Prior to the new rule, those end dates were set and adjusted by designated school officials, or DSOs—staff members approved by the federal government to work with international students—without needing governmental approval.

For example, a current Ph.D. candidate in their fifth year of study whose program ends May 2027 won’t have to take any action now. But if, come May, they still need more time to finish their degree or want to start OPT, they will have to apply for the extension.

Students who leave the country and re-enter will be given an Admit Until Date when they return. Because even current students who do not exit the country must file an extension at the end of their program under the new rule, being assigned an Admit Until Date has little practical impact. However, individuals who re-enter the U.S. will also be subjected to the shortened 30-day grace period, whereas those who remain listed as staying for duration of status will retain the 60-day period.

4. What Will Happen to Institutions?

Colleges and universities have raised the alarm about the administrative and financial burden this rule change will have. Each extension will require hours of work and cost hundreds of dollars to file, not counting the additional advising hours institutions anticipate they will spend addressing student questions and concerns. In court filings, several institutions noted additional anticipated costs, including updates to technology and legal fees.

The new rule may also lead to a further reduction in the already floundering number of international students studying in the U.S., considering the country’s flexible policies and the option to easily work after graduation was a major draw for many. If that happens, institutions warn, there could be further consequences, from a loss in tuition revenue to difficulty finding graduate students who can teach and work in labs on campus.

5. What Else Does the Regulation Change?

Outside of the new fixed limits, the regulation also restricts international students’ ability to change their major and institution. Undergraduates will not be allowed to change their major or where they are enrolled in their first year of study, and graduate students won’t be able to change their institution or field of study at all.

That’s a big problem for student success, some critics argue; if a student enters a program and find it’s not right for them, forcing them to wait until their sophomore year to switch majors or transfer schools will only delay the time it takes them to graduate.

Many institutions also offer specialized, joint graduate programs that require students to change or add to their program of study at some point in their studies, such as adding a second degree or certificate in their second or third year.

The rule also prohibits international students from pursuing a lower degree than they already have—for example, a student with a Ph.D. could not then go back and get a master’s degree.

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