A federal judge blocked a rule that would have capped international student visa stays at four years, one day before it took effect.

U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV granted the nationwide preliminary injunction Monday, Sept. 14, keeping the existing "duration of status" framework in place for F-1 and J-1 visa holders at the University of Oklahoma and colleges across the country. The Department of Homeland Security rule had been scheduled to take effect Tuesday, Sept. 15.

The injunction does not kill the rule. A status conference is scheduled for Oct. 2 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

What the rule would have done

DHS published the final rule July 16, replacing a system that has governed F-1 visa holders since 1978 and J-1 visa holders since 1985. Under the now-blocked rule, students would have been admitted for the length of their program, up to four years, plus a 30-day grace period, the OU Daily reported. Students needing more time would have had to apply for an extension through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at a cost of $420 to $470, subjecting them to biometric vetting and background checks. Previously, university staff handled those decisions.

The rule also would have barred F-1 and J-1 graduate students from transferring universities or programs after starting. That restriction previously applied only during a student's first year. The post-graduation departure window for F-1 students would have shrunk from 60 days to 30.

The four-year cap posed a particular problem for doctoral students. The median completion time for a doctoral program is nearly six years, according to evidence cited in the court's order.

OU students and faculty react

Kit Johnson, a professor at the OU College of Law who specializes in immigration law, told the OU Daily before the injunction was issued that the uncertainty was rattling students.

"Since this is a brand new process that has never existed before, there's really no comparator for us to point to. … Unfortunately, that's a big part of the uncertainty that is making international students so nervous," Johnson said.

Johnson told the OU Daily she had advised students to avoid all travel as a precaution. The injunction now provides temporary relief, but the rule has not been vacated.

Omar Horan, a Ph.D. student in electrical and computer engineering at OU on an F-1 visa, transferred from OU-Tulsa to OU's Norman campus partway through his program. Johnson told the OU Daily that kind of move would likely not have been permitted for graduate students under the rule. Horan said OU's international office notified students by email and offered a Zoom meeting. As a precaution, he extended his own status by a year.

Mounir Zahidi, a first-year computer science Ph.D. student at OU on an F-1 visa, said he learned about the rule in mid-July through social media. As of Aug. 28, Zahidi told the OU Daily he still had not been able to schedule an appointment with an International Student Services advisor.

Why the judge blocked it

In a 48-page order, Judge Saylor found that DHS failed to respond adequately to roughly 20,000 public comments, did not assess costs and benefits, and did not consider less burdensome alternatives, Inside Higher Ed reported. The judge wrote that the government's claim that the rule was necessary to safeguard national security bordered on the absurd.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a former Oklahoma senator, said in a July 16 press release that the previous system compromised national security and created conditions for immigration fraud.

Broader impact

Nationally, about 1.6 million people hold F visa status and roughly 500,000 hold J visa status, according to the court's order. Oklahoma lost an estimated $5.8 million from a 17 percent decline in new international student enrollment in fall 2025, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators. OU's total enrollment across all campuses topped 36,500 students in fall 2025.

OU Marketing and Communications told the OU Daily the university is monitoring the rule and that its Office of Immigration Services and International Student Services have provided guidance to affected students. Students can find updates at ou.edu/immigration.