Imminent Changes To International Student Visas Will Have Major Impact

In August 2025, the Department of Homeland Security proposed sweeping regulatory changes affecting the F-1, M-1, and I visa categories. The F-1 visa applies to international students pursuing academic studies in the United States; the M-1 visa is designated for students enrolled in vocational or nonacademic programs; and the I visa is reserved for representatives of foreign media, including journalists.

The public comment period closed in Fall 2025, and final regulations are now expected at any time. For individuals, universities, and employers who may be affected, this is an important moment to begin evaluating potential implications and planning strategically for next steps.

For purposes of this article, I will focus specifically on the proposed changes affecting F-1 international students.

Current Law

The F-1 visa was introduced under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. The current regulation allowing a period of stay based on “duration of status” was introduced in 1978. Under the current framework, students may remain in the United States for the duration of their active studies, commonly referred to as “duration of status” or D/S. 

Duration of status is defined as “the time during which an F-1 student is pursuing a full course of study at an educational institution certified by Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) for attendance by foreign students, or engaging in authorized practical training following completion of studies.”

International students may enter the United States up to 30 days before their academic program begins and receive a 60-day grace period after completing their studies or training.

Every student is eligible for a 12-month period of work authorization and training through Optional Practical Training (OPT). Students with qualifying STEM degrees may receive an additional 24 months of STEM OPT.

At present, the D/S framework allows students to move relatively seamlessly from program to program, school to school, and from OPT to STEM OPT. A school’s designated student office has access to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) database and can approve or update many aspects of a student’s status directly within the system.

That Is All About To Change

The proposed August 2025 rules are expected to remain largely the same in their final form. However, until the final rule is published, we cannot be certain. Anyone affected should read the final rule carefully. This article is intended as an early warning so students, schools, and employers can begin preparing now.

The duration of status regulation would be eliminated entirely. Instead, international students would receive a fixed period of admission. Most students would likely receive four years, while some may receive only two years.

To remain in the United States beyond their academic program, students would need to file Form I-539 to extend their stay. This extension process would apply not only to post-completion OPT, but also to the 24-month STEM OPT extension. In addition, the current 60-day grace period would be reduced to 30 days. Students would still need to file Form I-765 for employment authorization, as they do now, but under the proposed system, their underlying immigration status would no longer continue automatically while those applications are pending.

The impact of these changes would extend far beyond students alone. The ripple effects would touch schools, employers, and the broader U.S. economy.

USCIS Oversight

At present, though the Department of Homeland Security has access to the student database — SEVIS, the international school’s staff generally oversee status. The Designated Student Officer generally approves status issues — such as academic course changes or OPT approvals. USCIS would now take over that approval process and, in doing so, collect forms and filing fees at every stage of change. In other words, extensions would no longer be automatic. Students would instead be dependent on USCIS adjudications before they could proceed to the next phase of their studies or training. At present, Form I-539 processing times for student visas can take approximately six months.

Only after approval of the I-539 could a student then file Form I-765 for work authorization. Although posted processing times may indicate approximately 3.5 months, real-world experience suggests that adjudications can often take longer.

Impact On Students

While a Form I-539 is pending, a student may generally remain in the United States. However, they may not be able to work or study during that period. In many cases, they would essentially be left in limbo.

Students would also face significant new costs that they were never previously required to pay. The Form I-539 filing fee is currently $470, or $420 if filed online. At present, it does not appear these cases would qualify for premium processing, which generally costs just under $3,000. The filing fee for Form I-765 is $520 (or $470 for online filings). 

The impact may ultimately prove impossible to fully measure. The issue is not simply the filing fees themselves. The delays, uncertainty, stress, anxiety, and wasted time while waiting for adjudications will all have consequences.

Students are currently required to complete their OPT work experience within 14 months of graduation. If these proposed timelines become reality, how much meaningful training time students would actually receive before the allowable period expires is unclear.

Impact On Schools

Educational institutions have already faced extraordinary pressure since 2025, particularly the high-profile universities that dominated headlines earlier this year. In addition to existing compliance obligations, international student offices would need to exercise even greater caution regarding which students may be approved and when.

At the same time, international student enrollment has already declined, and these proposed rules may accelerate that trend further. This is not simply a financial challenge for schools. It may also have broader economic consequences for the United States as a whole.

Impact On Employers

Many of my clients, particularly those engaged in deep-tech research and innovation, consistently tell me they hire foreign national graduates because they cannot find enough domestic talent. A significant percentage of graduates with master’s and PhD degrees in STEM fields are international students. As a result, employers rely on the OPT talent pool.

Under the proposed system, businesses would need to wait not only for approval of the student’s change or extension of status, but also for work authorization approval. Combined, these processes could take eight to 10 months. Most businesses simply cannot afford to leave critical positions vacant for that long. As a result, U.S. businesses are bound to suffer. 

What To Do Now?

Anyone who may be affected should act immediately — if possible. Students who are eligible should apply for OPT or STEM OPT at the earliest opportunity. School leaders may want to think about the internal systems that will change from the current procedures — what kind of measures can be put in place now? And employers might need to think about sponsoring for visas earlier than anticipated. Employment lawyers and HR professionals should stay on top of these regulations to create their own policies and systems for compliance, recruiting, and retaining talent, as it is about to get harder. 

All of this will unfold in real time, and we will all be witnesses to one of the biggest changes to our immigration policies that will reverberate throughout the economy. I urge you to take action to protect your status and systems. And to document how this affects you, your clients, your employees, and your community, and to identify opportunities for future advocacy. 

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Tahmina Watson is the founding attorney of Watson Immigration Law in Seattle, where she practices US immigration law focusing on business immigration. She has been blogging about immigration law since 2008 and has written numerous articles in many publications. She is the author of Legal Heroes in the Trump Era: Be Inspired. Expand Your Impact. Change the World and The Startup Visa: Key to Job Growth and Economic Prosperity in America.  She is also the founder of The Washington Immigrant Defense Network (WIDEN), which funds and facilitates legal representation in the immigration courtroom, and co-founder of Airport Lawyers, which provided critical services during the early travel bans. Tahmina is regularly quoted in the media and is the host of the podcast Tahmina Talks Immigration. She is a Puget Sound Business Journal 2020 Women of Influence honoree.  Business Insider recently named her as one of the top immigration attorneys in the U.S. that help tech startups. You can reach her by email at [email protected], connect with her on LinkedIn or follow her on Twitter at @tahminawatson.