Information about a recent regulatory change affecting F-1 and J-1 students and their dependents.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published a final rule that replaces "Duration of Status (D/S)" with a fixed end date for authorized stay and introduces certain changes affecting academic mobility. The rule is scheduled to take effect on September 15, 2026.
Please note that no changes take effect before September 15, 2026.
ISSS has been closely monitoring this rule since it was first proposed and has been preparing for its possible implementation. Now that the final rule has been published, our team is carefully reviewing the details to fully understand how the new requirements will be implemented. We will provide additional guidance as soon as we have confirmed information to share.
We understand that you may have questions. To help you stay informed, ISSS will offer both virtual and in-person information sessions in the coming weeks. We encourage you to wait for guidance from ISSS before taking any action based on information from other sources.
In the meantime, please continue to:
- Maintain full-time enrollment and comply with all F-1 or J-1 requirements.
- Review your Form I-20 or DS-2019 to ensure that your program information, including your major(s) and expected program completion date, is accurate. Contact your ISSS Advisor if any updates are needed.
- Report any change of your U.S. address within 10 days by updating your local address in CaneLink.
- Monitor your @miami.edu email and read ISSS communications for official updates.
We are committed to keeping you informed throughout this process and will share additional information as it becomes available. As always, our team is here to support you and answer your questions.
By Presidential Proclamation, effective on January 1, 2026, 12:01 a.m. ET, the U.S. is fully or partially suspending entry and visa issuance for nationals from Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, The Gambia, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Myanmar (Burma), Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and those traveling with Palestinian Authority-issued documents, which may affect international students and their dependents who are:
- outside the U.S. on the applicable effective date of the Presidential Proclamation, and
- do not have a valid visa on the applicable effective date of this proclamation (January 1, 2026).
International students and their dependents from the affected countries, even those outside the U.S., who hold valid visas as of the effective date are not subject to the Proclamation. No visas issued before January 1, 2026, have been or will be revoked pursuant to the Proclamation.
Expanded Screening and Vetting for Visa Applicants
On June 18, 2025, the U.S. State Department announced it will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting, including online presence, of all student and exchange visitor applicants in the F and J nonimmigrant classifications, to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States.
To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for F and J nonimmigrant visas will be instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all their social media profiles to “public.”
The White House Presidential Proclamation Restricting Entry of Foreign Nationals and U.S. Department of State’s Suspension of Visa Issuance to Foreign Nationals
The U.S. is fully or partially suspending entry for and visa issuance for nationals from Afghanistan, Myanmar (Burma), Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela, which may affect international students and their dependents who are:
- are outside the United States on the applicable effective date of this proclamation; and
- do not have a valid visa on the applicable effective date of this proclamation. (June 9, 2025).
International students and their dependents from the affected countries, even those outside the U.S., who hold valid visas as of the effective date are not subject to the Proclamation. No visas issued before June 9, 2025, have been or will be revoked pursuant to the Proclamation.
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