Federal Court Postpones Effective Date of Final Rule Eliminating D/S

Federal Court Postpones Effective Date of Final Rule Eliminating D/S

On September 14, 2026, the U.S. Federal District Court of Massachusetts issued a nationwide temporary injunction in the litigation against the USDHS Final Rule eliminating Duration of Status (D/S), postponing the effective date of the Final Rule pending further judicial action.  As a result, the longstanding Duration of Status framework remains in place nationwide.

A copy of the court’s order is available here.
A copy of the court’s full memorandum and order on the motion (48 pages), available here.

The next court hearing has been scheduled for October 2, 2026.

The ISO and ISchO will notify the MIT community of any updates as they become available. 
Keep up to date on information related to the USDHS Final Rule here.