INFORM November/December 2025

REGULATORY REVIEW

inform November/December 2025, Vol. 36 (10) • 29

Establishing fixed stay period rules for international students in the US Regulatory Review is a regular column featuring updates on regulatory matters concerning oils- and fats-related industries.

Department of Homeland Security

PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSED REGULATORY ACTION

Studying and participating in exchange visitor and academic programs in the United States offers aliens access to world renowned, individualized instructional and educational programs. Similarly, the United States allows foreign news and media members access to the United States as part of their foreign employment. Millions of aliens have come to the United States on a temporary basis in the F (academic student), J (exchange visitor), and I (representatives of foreign information media) classifications. Unlike aliens in most nonimmigrant classifications who are admitted until a specific departure date, F, J, and I (except for some I aliens from the People’s Republic of China (PRC)) nonimmigrants are admitted into the United States for an unspecified period of time to engage in activities authorized under their respective nonimmigrant classifications. This unspecified period of time is referred to as “duration of status” (D/S). D/S for F academic students is generally the time during which a student is pursuing a full course of study at an educa tional institution approved by DHS, or engaging in authorized practical training following completion of studies, plus autho rized time to depart the country. D/S for J exchange visitors is the time during which an exchange visitor is participating in an authorized program, plus authorized time to depart the coun try. D/S for I representatives of foreign information media is the duration of his or her foreign employment duties in the United States. For dependents of principal F, J, or I nonimmi grants, D/S generally corresponds with the principal’s period of admission so long as the dependents are also complying with the requirements for their particular classifications. Since D/S was first introduced in 1978 for F nonimmigrants and 1985 for J and I nonimmigrants, the number of F, J, and I

nonimmigrants admitted each year into the United States has significantly increased. In 2023 alone, there were over 1.6 mil lion admissions in F status, a dramatic rise from when the leg acy Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) first shifted to D/S admission in 1979. For example, in the 1980-81 school year, there were approximately 260,000 admissions in F sta tus. Similar growth in the J nonimmigrant population has also occurred over the past decades. In 2023, there were over 500,000 admissions in J status, up over 250 percent from the 141,213 J admissions into the United States in 1985. Finally, there were 32,470 admissions for I nonimmigrant foreign media representatives in the United States in 2023, nearly dou ble from the 16,753 admissions into the U.S. in 1985. The significant increase in the volume of F academic stu dents, J exchange visitors, and I foreign information media representatives poses a challenge to the Department’s ability