Addressing Changes to Federal Immigration Policy
Dear members of the Northwestern community,
Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the latest changes in federal immigration policy that will affect not only international students and scholars but also the administrative support and academic operations of universities where F and J visa holders conduct their studies, research and work.
The new final rule, which is anticipated to take effect Sept. 15, 2026, establishes a fixed time period of admission to the country, replacing the “duration of status” rule that permitted stay through the completion of a full academic or exchange program. In many cases, these programs are longer than the fixed period of admission and may now require requests for extensions with the federal government rather than just within Northwestern’s Office of International Student and Scholar Services (OISS). The new rule also introduces other new guidelines, including limits on changes to educational objectives.
International students and scholars are critical contributors to the success of Northwestern. To address the many nuances of this complex rule, Northwestern has assembled a cross-unit team to gather information from official sources, internal stakeholders, peers and partner organizations and address the rule’s impacts on our current and future students and scholars as well as our institutional operations. OISS has established a webpage to provide an overview of the rule and answer emerging questions that are relevant to international students and scholars. Later today, OISS will send updates to members of our international community. The Office of the Provost will communicate updates separately to schools and units as appropriate.
With the federal government regularly issuing proposals or changes regarding travel, immigration, research and other topics, we encourage members of the University community to continue to monitor the Responding to Federal Policies website for the latest information and institutional guidance. As it did when the rule was announced last week, OISS also will continue to update its website as information becomes available and will post its communications to members of the international community on its news page.