June 23, 2026
The final policy will likely require international students to request an extension to stay in the country for more than four years.
Photo illustration by Justin Morrison/Inside Higher Ed | aapsky/iStock/Getty Images | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The White House’s Office of Management and Budget has finished its review of a rule that would end duration of status, a long-standing regulation that allows international students to stay in the U.S. until they finish their degree. The Department of Homeland Security can finalize the change any day now.
Last summer, DHS proposed replacing duration of status with new policy that would only allow those individuals to stay in the country for four years before they must request an extension. It also placed limitations on students’ ability to change majors and institutions. It’s unclear what changes, if any, the department made it the final rule in response to the public’s feedback on the proposal. Several commenters argued that ending duration of status would further discourage international students—whose numbers are already declining—from studying in the U.S.
