US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on 14 August that it will publish revised editions of two of its most widely used forms on 15 September 2026, and that there will be no grace period for either. From that date, Form I-539, used to extend or change nonimmigrant status, and Form I-765, used to apply for employment authorisation, exist only in the 09/15/26 edition. Anything filed on the older editions on or after 15 September is rejected. The date is not arbitrary: it is the day the Department of Homeland Security's rule ending "duration of status" for F students, J exchange visitors and I media representatives takes effect, and these two forms are the mechanism that rule runs on.
Background
For decades, F and J nonimmigrants were admitted to the United States for "duration of status", written on the Form I-94 as D/S rather than as a date. It meant a student could stay as long as they remained enrolled and in status, without ever asking USCIS for more time. DHS published a final rule on 17 July 2026 that ends this arrangement (91 FR 44976, effective 15 September 2026), replacing it with a fixed admission period printed as a specific Admit Until Date. The rule finalises a proposal first published in August 2025. DHS says the change lets it evaluate more directly whether these nonimmigrants are maintaining status while in the country.
What exactly changed
From 15 September, an F student is admitted for the length of the programme shown on the Form I-20, capped at four years, plus 30 days to arrive and a further 30 days to prepare for departure. Students in English language training programmes are limited to 24 months plus the 30-day departure period. Students at public high schools are limited to an aggregate of 12 months, including breaks and vacations. F-2 dependants receive a fixed period that cannot run past the principal student's. Anyone who needs longer to finish a programme, start a new one, or begin post-completion OPT or STEM OPT must either file an extension of stay with USCIS or leave the country and be readmitted by Customs and Border Protection. That extension of stay is filed on Form I-539, and the work authorisation that goes with OPT is applied for on Form I-765. Both forms have been rewritten to carry the new rule, which is why USCIS says a grace period is not possible.
What the filing rules are
- Form I-539: the 08/28/24 edition is accepted only if postmarked or electronically submitted before 15 September 2026, and rejected on or after that date
- Form I-765: the 08/21/25 edition is accepted only if postmarked or electronically submitted before 15 September 2026, and rejected on or after that date
- The new 09/15/26 editions are accepted only if postmarked or electronically submitted on or after 15 September 2026, so filing them early is also rejected
- USCIS has posted preview versions of both new forms and their instructions so filers can prepare
Who it affects
The immediate group is anyone with a filing in flight around the middle of September. A master's student who has finished coursework and is applying for post-completion OPT has to decide whether to get the I-765 in before 15 September on the current edition or wait and use the new one. A J-1 researcher whose programme runs past their new Admit Until Date will need an I-539 extension where previously none existed. A family on F-2 dependent status now has an end date printed on the I-94 that has to be tracked alongside the principal's. The broader group is every F, J and I nonimmigrant already in the country: the rule applies from 15 September regardless of when someone arrived, so a four-year PhD candidate in year three is affected as much as a student landing in September.
What this means in practice
Check the edition date printed in the lower-left corner of the form before you send it, and work out which side of 15 September the filing lands on. Rejection is not a denial, so a rejected package comes back and can be refiled, but the time lost can matter a great deal when an OPT start date or an authorised stay is running out. Pull up your own Form I-94 and Form I-20 or DS-2019 as well to see what end dates they carry, since the Admit Until Date is what governs from September onward. Our United States country guide (/country-guides/united-states) covers the wider picture of moving and staying there, and the field guide section on visas and status (/field-guide/visas-and-status) explains how status, permission to stay and work authorisation fit together.
When it takes effect
The revised 09/15/26 editions of Form I-539 and Form I-765 publish on 15 September 2026, the same day DHS's fixed-admission-period rule takes effect (91 FR 44976, published 17 July 2026). Source: USCIS alert dated 14 August 2026 and the alerts on uscis.gov/i-539 and uscis.gov/i-765.
What is not yet confirmed
USCIS has not published guidance on how filings already pending with the agency on 15 September will be handled, and it has not addressed edge cases beyond the postmark rule, such as a package postmarked on 14 September but received afterwards. If your filing is close to the line, the safe reading is the one USCIS has actually written down: the postmark or electronic submission date decides which edition applies.
Key Takeaway
From 15 September 2026 only the 09/15/26 editions of Form I-539 and I-765 are accepted, with no grace period, and students and exchange visitors move from open-ended "duration of status" to a fixed end date on their I-94.