F-1 grace period calculator.

What changed on September 15, 2026

For decades F-1 students were admitted for "duration of status", with no fixed end date, and had 60 days after finishing to leave or change status. DHS's final rule "Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media" (91 FR 44976, published July 17, 2026) replaced that with a fixed period of admission, not more than 4 years, effective September 15, 2026. The current text of 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(v) now reads that a student who has completed a course of study and any authorized practical training gets "an additional 30-day period" from the program end date, the 4-year maximum, or the end date of the approved post-completion OPT or STEM OPT employment authorization, as applicable.

DHS did not shorten the period for everyone at once. 8 CFR 214.1(m)(1) covers F and J nonimmigrants who were admitted for duration of status and were properly maintaining status on September 15, 2026. They may stay until the later of the EAD expiration or the program end date on the Form I-20, capped at 4 years from September 15, 2026, "plus the departure period of 60 days for F nonimmigrants, which is November 14, 2030". The regulation names that date itself, and this tool uses it as the ceiling.

How the tool counts

It adds the number of grace days to the end date you enter. The first grace day is the day after that end date, and the last day is the end date plus 30 (or 60, or 15). The regulation says "an additional 30-day period from the program end date" without spelling out whether the end date itself is counted, so the Form I-94 date, which USCIS says will reflect the 30-day period, is the figure to trust if it differs by a day.

Worked examples

• Fixed admission. A master's program ends May 15, 2027 and the student was admitted for a fixed period. The grace period runs May 16 to June 14, 2027.
• Duration-of-status transition. A student in status on September 15, 2026 whose Form I-20 ends May 15, 2027 has until July 14, 2027.
• Hitting the cap. A doctoral student in the transition group whose program ends October 20, 2030 would count to December 19, 2030, but the regulation stops the transition period at November 14, 2030.
• Authorized withdrawal. A student whom the DSO authorizes to withdraw on March 1, 2027 has 15 days, through March 16, 2027.

What the grace period is for

The regulation describes it as time "to prepare for departure from the United States, or to otherwise seek to maintain lawful status", including a timely extension-of-stay or change-of-status filing. It is not a work period. A student who ends study or training early, before the period of admission ends, must depart or seek to maintain status within 30 days of the end date, and a student who fails to maintain a full course of study is "not eligible for any additional period of time" and must leave immediately.

Points that trip people up

• Which end date applies. After post-completion OPT or STEM OPT the clock starts at the end date of the approved employment authorization, not at the program end date.
• OPT start dates. DHS noted that the regulation lets a student request an OPT start date up to 30 days after the program ends, and said it updated the rule so that the shorter grace period does not conflict with it. The OPT window calculator lays out those dates.
• A trip abroad. Under 8 CFR 214.1(m)(1)(ii), a transition-group student who leaves before filing for OPT and is readmitted with a fixed period of admission is treated under the fixed-admission rules, so ask your DSO which grace period applies after the new admission.
• J-1 exchange visitors already had a 30-day period; this page does not model J status.
• Congressional review. The Federal Register notice classed the rule as major and said DHS would publish a document if the review changed the effective date. The eCFR text read for this page shows it in force.

What this does not cover

M-1 students, who have their own 30-day period in 8 CFR 214.2(m); students whose status ended before September 15, 2026, whose period was set by the rule then in force; and anyone who has fallen out of status. Ask your designated school official (DSO) to confirm the date.

Sources

• eCFR: 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(i) and (v) — fixed admission, the 30-day period and the 15-day withdrawal period. Read November 1, 2026 (current to October 29, 2026).
• eCFR: 8 CFR 214.1(m) — the duration-of-status transition, 60-day period and the November 14, 2030 date.
• Federal Register: 91 FR 44976 (July 17, 2026) — the final rule, effective September 15, 2026.

Retrieved November 1, 2026. Confirm with your DSO and your Form I-94 before you rely on a date.