Court blocks the F-1 fixed admission period; duration of status still applies

DHS published a final rule on 17 July 2026 to replace duration of status (D/S) for F, J and I nonimmigrants with a fixed admission period of at most four years, due to take effect on 15 September 2026. The day before it would have, the District of Massachusetts blocked it.

On 14 September 2026 Judge Saylor granted nationwide preliminary relief in the suit brought by NAFSA, the Presidents' Alliance and others, postponing the rule's effective date under 5 U.S.C. § 705 and barring DHS and ICE from implementing it. So the old framework still governs: an F-1 is admitted for D/S and may stay until the program end date on the I-20 as long as status is maintained, there is no four-year cap, the post-completion grace period is still 60 days, and extending a program does not require filing Form I-539 with USCIS.

This is not settled. The government filed a notice of appeal to the First Circuit on 30 September 2026 and said at an October 2 status conference that it would ask for expedited review; the district court has given both sides until October 9 to state their positions on what happens next. The appeal does not by itself revive the rule, which remains blocked nationwide as of this page's review date. If it does take effect, this is what it says: the admission period follows the program length on the I-20, capped at four years, with 30 days before the start date to arrive and 30 days after the end to depart (down from 60), and staying longer means filing Form I-539 with USCIS up to 180 days before the period expires. One warning: the DHS Quick Facts and FAQ pages were last updated on 10 September and 31 August and still read as though the rule is going into effect, so remember they predate the ruling.