Student Visa America explains what the 2026 Duration of Status rule means for F-1 students — when your admission now ends, when to file Form I-539, why March 18, 2027 matters for OPT, what travel does to your status, how CPT is being policed, and what the 2026 USCIS green card memo did and did not change.
Everything else on this site follows from this one question. Find your panel, note your date, and the rest of the rule falls into place.
You keep duration of status — for now.
You are admitted to a fixed date.
Your Form I-94 controls your lawful admission. If the panel and your I-94 disagree, your I-94 governs.
Each has its own page, and each quotes the rule text it rests on.
Your Form I-94 gets a date instead of “D/S”.
60 days from the I-20 end date if you keep D/S; 30 days from a fixed-date I-94.
Staying past your date means filing Form I-539 before it.
File Form I-765 on or before March 18, 2027 and no separate extension is needed.
A gap in status, a change of educational level, a pending application that travel could affect, a question about leaving the United States, or a deadline that leaves no room for a mistake. Tell us what is happening and what dates you have, and we will point you in the right direction.
If a date on your Form I-94 or Form I-20 is inside the next 60 days, say so in the first line of your message
Give us your dates and your question. The more precisely you describe where you are in the process, the more useful our reply will be.
Please do not send passport scans, Form I-20s or USCIS notices through this form. See our privacy policy.