Overview
- A federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction on Sept. 14 that stopped a Department of Homeland Security rule set to take effect on Sept. 15 and kept the existing duration-of-status system in place.
- Under the DHS rule, most F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors would have been limited to four years and many I-visa journalists to about 240 days, with any extra time requiring a discretionary extension from USCIS.
- Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV found the agency’s rulemaking legally weak, saying DHS relied on a tiny number of incidents, failed to connect fixed time limits to fraud or security problems, and did not adequately address alternatives or public comments.
- The judge warned the rule could cause wide harms by forcing formal extension applications with fees, biometrics and security checks, which critics say could create delays, risk unlawful-presence accrual and already prompted some students to withdraw.
- The injunction is temporary and the case will continue in court with the government expected to seek further relief or appeal, a process that will decide whether DHS can replace duration-of-status with fixed admission periods.