New Form I-539 and I-765 Requirements Take Effect September 15

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will reject applications filed on outdated editions of Form I-539 or Form I-765 after September 15, with no transition period. The agency has urged applicants to verify the edition date before submitting.

The revised forms accompany a Department of Homeland Security rule that ends the duration-of-status framework for F-1 students, J-1 exchange visitors, and I foreign media representatives. Instead, these visa holders will be admitted for fixed periods, generally capped at four years, depending on program length and applicable rules.

H-4 dependents of H-1B workers, who commonly use Form I-539 to extend or change status, and eligible nonimmigrants seeking work authorization through Form I-765, including certain H-4 spouses and international students, are directly affected by the form changes.

For students already in F-1 or J-1 status when the rule takes effect, DHS transition provisions allow a period of up to four years from the effective date. A school-issued program extension will not automatically extend immigration authorization; students who need to stay longer must file an extension-of-stay application with USCIS.

Indian nationals, who make up a large share of both international students and H-1B workers in the U.S., are expected to feel the impact of these changes. The new rules require visa holders to track their authorized admission period closely and to use only the current form editions when filing.