What changes for F-1 nursing students on September 15, 2026
On July 17, 2026 DHS published a rule replacing “duration of status” for F-1 students with a fixed period of admission. It takes effect on September 15, 2026, six days after the date at the bottom of this page.
A challenge is live. NAFSA: Association of International Educators v. Department of Homeland Security was argued before Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in the District of Massachusetts on September 3, 2026. As of September 9 no ruling has issued, and filing a lawsuit does not pause a rule. Plan for the rule to be in effect and check the policy tracker for the current position.
What changes
Your admission becomes a fixed period equal to your program length, capped at four years, instead of the open-ended “D/S” that used to appear on your I-94. Staying beyond that fixed date requires filing Form I-539 to extend, with a fee and biometrics. Your school can no longer extend you internally.
The rule also cuts the post-completion departure grace period from 60 days to 30. This applies after you finish your course of study or your post-completion OPT. Most guidance online has not caught up.
If you are already here and in status
You are not converted on September 15. You may remain under your existing admission until the later of your I-20 program end date or your work permit expiry, subject to the four-year outside cap and the new departure grace period. So this is not an emergency for most current students. It is a planning change.
The three dates that matter to you
September 15, 2026, and travel. If you leave the United States and are readmitted on or after that date, your I-94 is reissued with a fixed admit-until date instead of “D/S,” and you lose the transitional treatment below. Take advice before any international travel. This is the single easiest way to make your own situation worse.
September 15, 2026, and forms. New editions of Form I-539 and Form I-765, both dated 09/15/26, become mandatory that day with no grace period. Earlier editions received on or after September 15 are rejected. If you are filing in the next few days, check the edition date in the corner of the form.
March 18, 2027. If your I-94 says “D/S” and you file your I-765 for OPT on or before that date, you do not need a concurrent I-539. After it, the second filing becomes mandatory for most people. That is a deadline to file before, and for many readers it is the line on this page that matters.
What to do
Look at your actual I-94 record and see what it says. Work out whether your OPT filing lands before or after March 18, 2027, and if it lands close to the line, move it earlier. Then decide whether any planned travel is worth converting your I-94.
One unexpected consequence, and it is a good one
If you plan to be licensed in Texas, this may help you.
Texas now requires documentary proof of lawful presence before it will issue or renew a nursing license, and the accepted-document list is narrow. The only route on it that fits a nonimmigrant is an I-94 showing a departure date after the license expires. A “D/S” I-94 shows no departure date at all, which is why the rule has been so awkward for F-1 applicants there. A fixed admit-until date is exactly the kind of document that item contemplates.
We would rather flag this than promise it. Confirm with the Texas Board of Nursing before you rely on it. See getting licensed, state by state.
If you are a U.S.-educated nursing graduate looking for an employer that sponsors, apply to inSpring.
Last checked September 9, 2026. Source: 91 FR 44976, July 17, 2026. This one moves. Check the tracker.