US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is still accepting the 08/28/24 edition (dated August 28, 2024) of Form I-539 and the 08/21/25 edition (dated August 21, 2025) of Form I-765, and is not accepting the 09/15/26 editions it had planned to make mandatory on September 15, 2026. The agency posted that instruction on its Form I-539 and Form I-765 pages after a federal judge postponed the regulation the new editions were written to carry out.
The notice on both pages ties the decision to the court: “Pursuant to the Sept. 14, 2026, order, USCIS continues to accept the 08/28/24 edition of Form I-539 and 08/21/25 edition of Form I-765 and is not accepting the 09/15/26 edition of Forms I-539 and I-765.” It adds that, until the order is lifted, “USCIS will proceed under the previous regulatory provisions.”
What USCIS Had Planned
On August 14, 2026, USCIS announced that it would publish 09/15/26 editions of both forms on September 15 and reject the older editions from that date with no grace period, because the revised editions were “necessary for USCIS to apply the final rule.” It posted preview versions and told applicants not to file them early. That alert now carries an “Archived Content” banner stating that “the information on this page is out of date,” though its text was not revised.
The rule behind the new editions was published on July 17, 2026, at 91 FR 44976, by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It would replace “duration of status” admission for F students, J exchange visitors and I foreign media representatives with fixed periods of up to four years for F and J nonimmigrants and up to 240 days for most I nonimmigrants, with extensions requested on Form I-539.
The Court Order
On September 14, Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction order under the Administrative Procedure Act in Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration v. DHS. It postponed the rule’s effective date “pending further order of this court or resolution of this proceeding on the merits” and barred DHS and ICE from “taking any further action to implement the Final Rule.” In his memorandum, Saylor wrote that “the promulgation of the rule clearly failed to comply with the APA [Administrative Procedure Act] in multiple respects.” He denied, without prejudice, requests to vacate the rule or grant summary judgment.
The plaintiffs, led by NAFSA: Association of International Educators and the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, include higher education associations and labor unions.
In the notice on both form pages, DHS said it “strongly disagrees with the court’s order” and would take measures to implement the rule if the order is lifted.
“DHS strongly disagrees with the court’s order and if the order is lifted, will take measures to implement the final rule.”
— US Department of Homeland Security, notice on the USCIS Form I-539 and Form I-765 pages
Which Edition Filers Should Use Now
The Form Details sections of both pages now list the older editions as current. Students filing Form I-765 for post-completion optional practical training (OPT) or a 24-month STEM OPT extension use the 08/21/25 edition, as does every other Form I-765 filer, and anyone filing Form I-539 to extend a stay, change status or seek F-1 or M-1 reinstatement uses the 08/28/24 edition. USCIS warns that it may reject a paper filing if any page comes from a different edition.
The Form I-765 page lists the OPT filing windows: up to 90 days before and no later than 60 days after the program end date, and within 30 days of the school official’s recommendation. STEM OPT applicants may file up to 90 days before their current OPT expires.
Because the rule’s effective date is postponed, none of its provisions are operating. That includes its 240-day continuation of on-campus employment and curricular practical training (CPT) while an extension request is pending, and a transition carve-out that would have let some students apply for OPT or STEM OPT through March 18, 2027, without also filing Form I-539. Students working on campus, in CPT or on OPT, and the employers that hire them, remain under the previous regulations while the order stands.
What Remains Unknown
USCIS has not issued a newsroom alert about the injunction. As of September 28, the newest item on its alerts page was dated September 11, and its Forms Updates page listed no 09/15/26 edition of either form. The agency has not said when the form-page notices were posted, whether the preview versions remain available, or how it is handling any applications that arrived on the 09/15/26 editions.
Guidance from immigration practitioners diverged in the first days after the order. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) told members in a September 14 practice alert that the new versions of Forms I-539 and I-765 “will no longer take effect on September 15, 2026 due to an injunction.” Clinch Law Firm told readers on September 15 that the notices on the USCIS form pages then stated that filings on or after that date “must use” the 09/15/26 editions, the opposite of the instruction now on those pages.
On its litigation page, last updated September 16, NAFSA said that “the longstanding Duration of Status framework remains in place nationwide” and that “the government can be expected to appeal.” CourtListener‘s copy of the case docket, last refreshed September 21, showed no appeal and no filings after September 14, and a status conference is set for October 2. DHS has not said how dates in the rule keyed to September 15, 2026, such as the November 14, 2030, outside date for F students already in the country, would apply if the order is lifted.
(Photo: Image by andrew_t8 from Pixabay)