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End of Duration of Status

Understanding Changes to Duration of Status

New federal duration-of-status requirements will affect students studying in the United States on an F or J visa beginning September 15, 2026. The information below explains how these changes may affect ESL, undergraduate and graduate students, including rules related to changing programs, transferring universities, completing a degree, Optional Practical Training and requesting additional time to remain in the United States.

Students are encouraged to review the section that applies to their academic level and contact the Office of Global Support and Student Engagement with questions about their individual circumstances.

Who this affects: Students studying on an F or J visa
Effective date: September 15, 2026 

Changing Majors

  • You cannot change from an academic program to ESL, but you can do ESL first and then change to an academic program.

Transferring Universities

  • You cannot transfer to another university for the first year of studying in the US.

Length of Studying

  • You can only study ESL for a maximum of 24 months total in the US.
  • If you change to an academic program, you will need to apply for an extension of stay (see below) to complete the degree program

Changing Majors

  • You cannot change your major for the first year of studying in the US
  • You cannot change from academic classes to ESL classes. 

Transferring Universities

  • You cannot transfer to another university for the first year of studying in the US.

Length of Studying

  • If you are a bachelor’s student, you can only study in the US a maximum of 4 years. If you need more than 4 years to finish your degree, if you want to do OPT, or if you want to study another degree, you have to apply for an extension of stay with USCIS (see below). The Office of Global Support and Student Engagement (OGSSE) can help you do this.
  • If you are doing an associate’s degree, you only have a maximum of 2 years to finish your degree.
  • If you transfer to another university, this length of study does not reset. For example, if you are studying a bachelor’s degree and you study 2 years on one university and then transfer, you have 2 years left at the second university to finish your degree, not 4 years.

Doing a Second Degree

  • After you graduate, you cannot take a second degree at the same level or lower: e.g. if you graduate with a bachelor’s degree, you cannot do a second bachelor’s degree: if you want to keep studying, you have to do a master’s degree.
  • If you graduate with an associate’s degree, you cannot get a second associate’s degree: you have to do a bachelor’s degree.

Grace Period

  • After you finish your degree, you have a grace period of 30 days after the program end date on your I-20. After that, you need to be enrolled in a new program, be on OPT or leave the country.
  • If you are studying in the US before September 15, 2026, you will still have 60 days after you graduate. However, if you leave the country and come back in or if you change to a new degree program, that time will be shortened to 30 days.

OPT

  • If you want to do OPT after you graduate, you need to apply for an extension of stay (see below) as well as applying for OPT. The process will be covered in the required OPT information sessions held during the year.
  • However, if you are graduating in December 2026 or May 2027 AND apply for OPT before March 18, you will not have to apply for an extension of stay.

Changing Majors

  • You cannot change your major while you are studying your degree
  • You cannot change from academic classes to ESL classes.

Transferring Universities

  • You cannot transfer to another university while you are studying your degree.
  • If you are doing a master’s degree, you can transfer to another university to do a doctoral degree.

Length of Studying

  • You have a set amount of time you can study, depending on the length of your program. This will be the end date on your I-20. If you need more time to finish your degree, or if you want to do OPT, you have to apply for an extension of stay with USCIS (see below). The Office of Global Support and Student Engagement (OGSSE) can help you do this.

Doing a Second Degree

  • After you graduate, you cannot take a second degree at the same level or lower: e.g. if you graduate with a master’s degree, you cannot do a second master’s degree or a bachelor’s degree. You could do a doctoral degree if you wanted.

Grace Period

  • After you finish your degree, you have a grace period of 30 days after the program end date on your I-20. After that, you need to be enrolled in a new program, be on OPT or leave the country.
  • If you are studying in the US before September 15, 2026, you will still have 60 days after you graduate. However, if you leave the country and come back in or if you change to a new degree program, that time will be shortened to 30 days.

OPT

  • If you want to do OPT after you graduate, you need to apply for an extension of stay (see below) as well as applying for OPT. The process will be covered in the required OPT information sessions held during the year.
  • However, if you are graduating in December 2026 or May 2027 AND apply for OPT before March 18, you will not have to apply for an extension of stay.

  • Talk to the Office of Global Support and Student Engagement if you want to extend your I-20, either to finish your degree or do OPT
  • You can file an extension of stay application 180 days before the Admit Until Date on your I-94
  • You will need to file the I-539 form, submit new biometrics and pay the filing fee