Disclaimer

HenryKnows provides general information, not legal advice. Content on this site — including Henry's chat answers, the guides, and the Duration Rules Calculator — explains immigration regulations in plain language, with citations to the underlying rules so you can verify everything independently.

What that means in practice

• No attorney-client relationship. Using this site, asking Henry questions, or reading the guides does not create an attorney-client or advisor-advisee relationship of any kind.
• Not your school, not the government. HenryKnows is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or speaking for any university, DHS, SEVP, USCIS, or any other agency. Decisions about your SEVIS record are made by your school's designated school officials; decisions about your immigration status are made by the government.
• Written by a practitioner, in a personal capacity. The guides are written by an active Designated School Official at a large public university, in a personal capacity — from a practitioner's vantage point, as a DSO and not as a lawyer.
• AI answers can be wrong. Henry's chat answers are generated by an AI system grounded in a curated regulatory corpus. We work hard on accuracy and every answer carries its citation — but no AI system is perfect. That is exactly why the citations are there: check them, especially before a consequential decision.
• Rules change. Immigration regulations change — the September 15, 2026 duration-of-status rule is the largest example in decades. Each guide shows when it was last reviewed. Always confirm current rules with official sources.

Before you act

For anything consequential — travel, filing deadlines, status questions — confirm with your school's international student office, official sources such as studyinthestates.dhs.gov and uscis.gov, or a licensed immigration attorney. Where our pages cite the duration-of-status final rule, you can read the exact language yourself in the full rule text.