F-1 guides: real scenarios, answered
These are the situations international students actually bring to a DSO's desk — deadlines missed by days, statuses that don't match the paperwork, jobs that may or may not count.
Your grace period is still 60 days. The government’s own website says 30.
Ten student questions on the duration-of-status rule: HenryKnows 10 of 10 said postponed; ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude each got it wrong at least once; 12 government pages and 71 university sites still present it as law. Quoted, dated, checked live.
What universities say about CPT after SEVP's August 2026 guidance
Each school's own words on CPT after the August 12 and 24 broadcast messages, next to the regulation and the guidance. Checked daily.
Is F-1 duration of status ending? Not yet
Duration of status still applies: the September 15, 2026 rule was postponed by a federal court. Today's rules first, then what the postponed rule would change.
Do F-1 students need Form I-539? Not today
No I-539 extension of stay while the rule is postponed. What the March 18, 2027 carve-out would mean if the rule takes effect.
60 days or 30? The F-1 grace period is still 60 days
Today's three departure periods (60, 15, none), and the shorter ones the postponed rule would bring.
F-1 travel after September 15, 2026: still duration of status
Returning students are still admitted for D/S. What to check before you book, and what would change if the rule takes effect.
Is there a four-year limit on F-1 admission? Not today
Duration of status has no fixed maximum. How the postponed rule's four-year cap would work if it takes effect.
The OPT filing window is still 60 days after your program end date
File up to 90 days before and 60 days after, within 30 days of your DSO's recommendation. The 30-day cutoff was postponed with the rule.
When does the F-1 60-day grace period start, and is it still 60 days?
Which date starts the clock, and why it is still 60 days today.
The cap-gap extension, explained
Who qualifies, why it sometimes doesn't show on your I-20, and the grace-period trap.
1099 work, gigs, and self-employment on OPT
What counts as OPT employment, what changes on STEM OPT, and how unemployment days work.
Transferring schools after the semester already started
Late transfer-ins, release dates, and the ways a mid-term transfer quietly goes wrong.
When can I apply for STEM OPT?
The 90-day window, the 60-day recommendation rule, and the 180-day automatic extension.
I missed my STEM OPT 6-month validation report
The 10-business-day rule, SEVP Portal vs. myUSCIS, and what a DSO can actually repair.
OPT unemployment days: how the count actually works
The 90/150-day limits, what stops the clock, and the 10-day-gap myth.
Reduced course load, semester by semester
Academic-difficulty RCL, medical RCL, final-semester rules — and the limits on each.
The one-online-class rule, explained
How hybrids count, classes beyond the minimum, and the final-semester trap.
CPT that survives scrutiny
The curricular test, the 20-hour line, the 12-month rule that kills OPT, and 1099 offers.
Changing status to F-1 inside the U.S.
The bridge problem, the B-2 no-study rule, and the travel trap that abandons your case.
Henry answers specific F-1 / J-1 / OPT / SEVIS questions instantly, with the regulation cited. Free, no account needed — please leave out student names and ID numbers.
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