A federal court postponed the Department of Homeland Security from enforcing changes to how long international students can stay in the U.S., known as their duration of status, in a Sept. 14 ruling. 

The changes would primarily alter students’ duration of status for exchange visitors (J visas) and nonimmigrant students (F visas), which include students pursuing study at a U.S. university or an English language program. 

DHS previously announced in July that it would enforce these duration of status changes beginning Sept. 15. The court did not specify when, or if, these changes will take effect. 

Previously, international students could stay in the U.S. so long as they continued their studies. If the new policies go into effect, international students would only be allowed to stay in the U.S. for the exact length of their degree program with an automatic maximum of four years. Students would have 30 days before and after those four years, designated as a travel period, and would have to apply for an extension of stay (EOS) if they want to pursue a degree that takes more time than the program is allotted. 

“I’ve just generally noticed a greater level of anxiety,” said an undergraduate international student, who requested to remain anonymous due to their international status. “That’s definitely worrying a lot of people and communities that I’m in.”

There are about 2,000 undergraduate and 5,000 graduate international students at UT, according to University data. Under the new rules, undergraduates would not be able to change their major in their first year of study, and graduate students would not be able to change their field of study at all.

“Despite (knowing) that I will most likely only be here for a year, it’s always something in the back of my head that (with) the political climate, the pendulum could swing even more in the negative direction,” said an international graduate student, who also requested anonymity due to their status.

If international students do not apply for an extension of stay, they may need to return to their home country, then return with a renewed period of admission from the U.S. 

“This final rule will provide additional protections and oversight of these nonimmigrant categories and will allow DHS to better evaluate whether these nonimmigrants are maintaining status while temporarily in the United States,” the Department of Homeland Security wrote in a ruling published on the Federal Register.