What Does Admit Until Date D/S Mean on Your I-94?

On a U.S. Customs and Border Protection I-94 record, “D/S” in the Admit Until Date field means Duration of Status. Instead of a calendar deadline, your authorized stay lasts as long as you are actively pursuing the program or activity your visa was issued for and complying with its conditions, plus a short grace period afterward.¹ There is no fixed departure date built into your admission. Your stay ends when your program ends, or the moment you stop meeting the terms of your visa category.

Why Your I-94 Shows No Date

Most nonimmigrant visitors see a specific calendar date in the Admit Until field, telling them exactly when they must leave. Academic programs and exchange activities do not fit that model. A doctoral program might run six years; a summer exchange might last two months. Rather than forcing an officer at the port of entry to guess an end date, D/S ties your authorized stay to the actual length of your program as tracked in government systems like SEVIS, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.²

The result is flexibility with a catch. You are not counting down to a date, but you are also never fully “safe” on the calendar. What keeps you in status is compliance, not the passage of time.

Who Is Admitted for Duration of Status

D/S is limited to a small set of nonimmigrant categories where program length varies:

Dependents in the corresponding F-2, J-2, and I categories also receive D/S, tied to the principal’s status.

One category people often assume is included but isn’t: M-1 vocational students. M-1 admission is for a fixed period based on program length, up to one year, and extensions require a formal application. An M-1 I-94 will show a specific date, not “D/S.”

D/S Compared to a Fixed Admit-Until Date

The practical difference matters. If your I-94 shows a calendar date, overstaying that date immediately starts the clock on unlawful presence, whatever you happen to be doing. With D/S, there is no date to overstay in that traditional sense. Instead, your stay is legal for as long as you meet the conditions of your visa.

An F-1 student enrolled full-time and making normal academic progress remains in valid status five years after entry. But an F-1 student who drops below full-time enrollment without authorization, or takes an unauthorized job, loses status the same day, even if only a month has passed since arrival. Compliance is the whole test.

Two other dates travel separately from your I-94. Your visa stamp expiration controls whether you can enter the country. Your passport expiration is its own document requirement. Neither one tells you how long you can remain inside the United States. The I-94, with its D/S notation, does.

What You Have to Do to Stay in Status

Because D/S has no built-in end date, keeping your status depends entirely on following the rules of your category. A violation doesn’t just cut your stay short. It can end it overnight.

F-1 Students

F-1 students must maintain a full course of study each term at a SEVP-certified institution and make normal progress toward the degree.⁵ Federal regulations generally set that at 12 credit hours per term for undergraduates.³ Dropping below full-time without your Designated School Official’s approval is a status violation. So is unauthorized employment, which is one of the fastest ways to lose F-1 status entirely.

J-1 Exchange Visitors

J-1 visitors must pursue the activities listed on their DS-2019. Working outside the scope of the authorized program is a violation. Limited incidental work, such as an occasional lecture directly tied to program objectives, can sometimes be permitted, but it must be approved in advance.⁴

Documents and Employment Authorization

Keep your passport valid, typically at least six months beyond your period of stay, and keep your program document current, whether that is a Form I-20 for students or DS-2019 for exchange visitors.⁶ If your dates change, work with your DSO or program sponsor to update the form before it expires.

For F-1 students, on-campus employment generally does not require separate authorization, but off-campus work requires either Curricular Practical Training authorized by your DSO on your I-20, or Optional Practical Training authorized by USCIS through a separate Employment Authorization Document.⁷ The authorization must be in place before your first day of work. Starting even one day early counts as unauthorized employment.

Grace Periods After the Program Ends

D/S doesn’t mean you have to leave the country the day your program concludes. Each category includes a wind-down window.

F-1 students get 60 days after completing their program or authorized practical training. You cannot work during this period, but you can prepare to depart, transfer to another school, or file to change status.⁵
J-1 exchange visitors get 30 days after program completion for departure purposes, with no employment authorization.⁴

An F-1 student who withdraws from school with DSO authorization gets only 15 days to depart, not the full 60.³ A student who simply stops attending without authorization gets no grace period.

What Happens If You Fall Out of D/S

Losing D/S status carries consequences well beyond having to leave.

For F-1 and M-1 students, a violation triggers termination of the SEVIS record. All employment authorization ends immediately, and there is no grace period from a termination for a status violation. You must either seek reinstatement or leave the country.⁸

Unlawful presence works differently for D/S holders than for fixed-date visitors. Under current guidance, F and J nonimmigrants admitted for D/S generally do not begin accruing unlawful presence until USCIS formally finds a status violation while adjudicating a benefit request, or an immigration judge orders removal.⁹ Once accrual starts, more than 180 days of unlawful presence followed by departure triggers a three-year bar on returning; a year or more triggers a ten-year bar.¹⁰ Remaining past your authorized stay can also void your existing visa, requiring a new one from outside the country before you can return.¹¹

F-1 students who lose status may apply for reinstatement using Form I-539. You must show the violation resulted from circumstances beyond your control, or that it involved a course-load reduction your DSO would have had authority to approve, and that denial would cause extreme hardship.¹² If more than five months have passed since you fell out of status, you also need to show exceptional circumstances for the delay. Reinstatement is discretionary.

Checking and Fixing Your I-94

You can pull your current I-94 record at i94.cbp.dhs.gov using your name as it appears on your travel documents, your date of birth, your passport number, and the issuing country. The record will show your class of admission and either a calendar date or “D/S” in the Admit Until field.¹³ The printout from the site is treated as your official record of admission.

Check it after every entry. If the class of admission is wrong, or the Admit Until field shows a date when it should show “D/S,” you can visit a CBP Deferred Inspection Site to have the record corrected. Any Deferred Inspection Site or CBP office at an international airport can help, regardless of where you entered, and you should call ahead for an appointment.¹⁴ If that route doesn’t resolve the issue, Form I-102 requests a replacement or corrected I-94 from USCIS; corrections for CBP errors are free.¹⁵

A Proposed Rule Would Replace D/S With Fixed Dates

DHS published a proposed rule in August 2025 that would end duration of status for F, J, and I holders and replace it with specific admission end dates, with extensions required for programs that run longer.¹⁶ As of publication, the rule remains a proposal. The public comment period closed in late 2025, and DHS said it would review comments before deciding whether to finalize. If adopted, it would change how students and exchange visitors manage their stay, replacing continuous program enrollment with fixed deadlines. Anyone currently in D/S should watch for updates through their school’s international student office or program sponsor.

1
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Arrival/Departure Forms: I-94 and I-94W
2
Federal Register. 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
3
eCFR. 8 CFR 214.2 – Special Requirements for Admission, Extension, and Maintenance of Status
4
USCIS. Chapter 3 – Terms and Conditions of J Exchange Visitor Status
5
Official website of the Department of Homeland Security. Maintaining Status
6
U.S. Department of State. Student Visa
7
Department of Homeland Security. F-1 Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
8
Department of Homeland Security. Terminate a Student
9
USCIS. Accrual of Unlawful Presence and F, J, and M Nonimmigrants
10
USCIS. Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility
11
eCFR. 22 CFR 40.68 – Aliens Subject to INA 222(g)
12
USCIS. Form I-539, Instructions for Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status
13
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. I-94/I-95 Website – Official Site for Travelers Visiting the United States
14
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. What is a Deferred Inspection Site?
15
USCIS. G-1055 Fee Schedule
16
Department of Homeland Security. DHS Posts Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission