Duration of Status Ends September 15. Your OPT Hires Are the Exposure.

On September 15, 2026, DHS stops admitting F, J and I nonimmigrants for "duration of status" and begins admitting them for fixed periods with hard end dates. The final rule published on July 17, 2026 at 91 FR 44976 (DHS Docket No. ICEB-2025-0001, RIN 1653-AA95) and is in effect on that date; it has not been enjoined. A motion to block it was argued in the District of Massachusetts on September 3, 2026 and, as of this writing, remains undecided.

Why it matters

For two decades an F-1 student's I-94 said "D/S," and status lasted as long as the academic program did. Status and employment authorization moved together, so an unexpired EAD was a serviceable proxy for both. After September 15 they come apart. A person can hold a valid EAD and still have run out of authorized stay. A person can hold authorized stay and still be waiting on an extension application that has no premium processing lane.

That is the practical change for you. Your onboarding calendar now depends on a second USCIS adjudication you cannot pay to accelerate.

What the rule does

Under the final rule, F nonimmigrants are admitted for the length of their program, not to exceed four years. J nonimmigrants are admitted for their program duration plus authorized departure time. I nonimmigrants are admitted for the period needed to complete their assignment, not to exceed 240 days, with an exception for certain PRC passport holders.

Anyone who needs more time must file an extension of stay on Form I-539 (with Form I-539A for dependents). The rule also shortens the period an F-1 has to prepare to depart after completing a course of study or authorized post-completion practical training, from 60 days to 30 days.

Your current roster is mostly protected. Your next hires are not.

This is the part most summaries get wrong, and it is the difference between a fire drill and a work plan.

F and J nonimmigrants who are in duration of status on the effective date are authorized to remain until the later of the end date on their Form I-20 or DS-2019 or the expiration of an OPT employment authorization document, capped at four years from the effective date, plus the applicable grace period. Separately, F-1 students with post-completion OPT or STEM OPT applications pending on the effective date, or who file such an application within the first six months after the rule takes effect, are not required to file a separate extension of status.

So the people already on your payroll in F-1 status are, in the main, stable. The exposure sits in three places: students admitted on or after September 15; anyone in the transition group who departs the United States and reenters, which can forfeit the protection; and STEM OPT extension filings made after that first six month window closes.

The 240-day continuation is narrower than it sounds

The rule allows an F nonimmigrant whose timely filed extension of stay is still pending after the admission period expires to keep on-campus and off-campus employment authorization for up to 240 days, or until the end date of the Federal Register notice suspending certain regulatory requirements, whichever comes first.

Read that against what it does not do. It continues an authorization that already exists. It does not manufacture authorization for a candidate whose OPT has not yet been approved, and it does not help someone who filed late. For a new graduate you want to start in February, the 240-day provision is irrelevant; the I-539 timeline is everything.

The I-9 answer is boring, and that is the point

The final rule does not amend the Form I-9 document review rules. An unexpired EAD remains an acceptable List A document, and you should not invent a reverification practice built on Form I-539 receipt notices. Asking to see extension paperwork you are not entitled to demand creates document abuse risk under 8 U.S.C. 1324b for no compliance benefit.

Your exposure here is scheduling, not documentation. The two failure modes are starting a person who is not yet authorized to work, and losing a hire because a start date slipped past a client commitment or a project deadline. One is an enforcement problem. The other is a revenue problem. Both are calendar problems.

The pending litigation does not change what you do this week

Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, No. 1:26-cv-13799 (D. Mass., filed August 18, 2026), seeks to block the rule. Plaintiffs include NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the Presidents' Alliance, the American Federation of Teachers and the NewsGuild-CWA. The preliminary injunction motion was argued before District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV on September 3, 2026. As of September 11, 2026, no ruling on that motion had been reported on the parties' public case pages.

Plan on the rule taking effect. If an injunction lands before September 15, you unwind a conservative plan and lose nothing. If you plan for an injunction that never arrives, you lose start dates you already promised.

What to do

1. Pull a roster this week of every employee, intern and pending hire in F-1 or J-1 status. Capture two dates for each: the end date on the Form I-20 or DS-2019, and the EAD expiration. Under the transition provision, the later of the two governs.
2. Identify everyone who can file for post-completion OPT or STEM OPT within the first six months after September 15, and get those filings in during that window. Filing inside it avoids a separate extension of stay; filing after it does not.
3. For anyone admitted on or after September 15, stop treating an unexpired EAD as sufficient on its own. Confirm the authorized period of stay runs through the intended start date before you set one.
4. Add 60 to 90 days of buffer to any offer contingent on OPT or STEM OPT approval, and write the contingency into the offer letter. There is no premium processing for Form I-539.
5. Tell F-1 and J-1 employees to check with counsel before international travel. Departure and reentry can move someone out of the transition group and into the fixed admission regime.
6. Calendar a review for the week of September 21. If the District of Massachusetts rules, the plan changes; if it does not, the September 15 framework is your operating reality.