The Department of Homeland Security has eliminated a federal regulation in place since 1978 that allowed international students to legally stay in the U.S. with F-1 visas for as long as their programs of study or degrees lasted.
Now, they can only stay in the U.S. as long as four years, unless they apply for an extension, and won’t be able to change their majors or transfer schools once in the country as easily.
Here are five things to know about this new rule:
- After proposing it last summer, Homeland Security received 22,000 comments, with most opposing the change. After reviewing the comments for about a year, the department formally published the new rule on July 17 and it will take effect on Sept. 15.
According to Inside Higher Ed, the U.S. government has argued that the old “duration of status” rule allowed students to remain in the country indefinitely without having to interact with immigration officials. This led to overstays and national security concerns, federal officials have said. DHS said the new rule is “intended as a law enforcement and screening tool to assess whether a student is maintaining normal academic progress and eligibility for F-1 status.”
- Immigration advocates in Tucson, and students and faculty at the University of Arizona, are saying this will have a “devastating impact” on universities, financially and otherwise, and that immigrant students will face barriers to stay in the U.S.
Critics say the change could cut tuition revenue from international students, who pay twice or thrice the amount paid by U.S. students. For UA’s fall 2026 semester, in-state tuition for on-campus undergraduates is $12,168, while out-of-state and international undergraduates will pay $42,600 in tuition. Universities have “become heavily reliant on foreign students to be able to survive, to offset the costs of other students’ tuition,” said Tucson immigration attorney Mo Goldman. “So, get ready U.S. citizens to probably pay more for your tuition … because they have to come up with the money somewhere, somehow.” UA officials did not respond to requests for comment.
- Nationally, higher education institutions and organizations are opposing the change, stating that a lot of international students, including Ph.D. and undergraduates, won’t be able to finish their degrees in four years. They say the rule change is detrimental to American innovation, research and economic growth.
Reporter Prerana Sannappanavar covers higher education for the Arizona Daily Star and Tucson.com. Contact her at psannappa1@tucson.com or DM her on Twitter.
Prerana Sannappanavar
Higher Education Reporter
