DHS Proposal to Replace Duration of Status Designation with Fixed Periods of Stay for F, J, and I Nonimmigrants Is Sent to OMB for Review

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has submitted for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review a proposed regulation that would seek to replace the current “duration of status” (D/S) admission policy for international students (F status), exchange visitors (J status), representatives of foreign information media (I status), and their dependents with a policy that would set a finite period of authorized stay.  

The content of the proposed rule is not yet known, but a proposed rule of the same name was issued in 2020 during the first Trump administration, and sought to limit F, J, and I nonimmigrants to a specific period of stay and to require them to apply for an extension of stay should they need more time to complete their program, employment, or assignment.

This possible change to D/S admission procedures would also result in a change to current policies related to unlawful presence for F, J, and I nonimmigrants, likely making them subject to the accrual of unlawful presence in the same way as other nonimmigrant categories. Currently, F, J, and I nonimmigrants only begin to accrue unlawful presence after USCIS formally finds a nonimmigrant status violation or an immigration judge orders the applicant excluded, deported or removed. Other nonimmigrant categories begin to accrue unlawful presence after the last date of their finite authorized stay, except in a narrow set of circumstances.

OMB will review the draft proposal, after which it may request changes or clear it for publication. After OMB clearance, the proposed rule would be released for publication in the Federal Register. DHS would be expected to accept public comments on the proposal for either 30 or 60 days after Federal Register publication. After considering the comments, the agency would then publish a final version of the rule, which will include an implementation timeframe. There is no set timeframe for publication of a final rule, though the process typically takes several months or more.