International Scholars Operations (ISO) is aware of recently-announced changes to “duration of status” for J-1 exchange visitors, which will be published in the Federal Register on July 17, 2026. ISO is analyzing these changes in partnership with peers across campus and in the immigration field. The new rule will not go into effect until September 15, 2026.
As currently posted, the rule is over 500 pages long, and it will take time to analyze and understand fully. Once our analysis is complete, we will reach out to affected parties and to campus with information and next steps. Updates will also be added to this blog post. We understand the anxiety that this change represents for international scholars, whom we greatly value at the UW. Our priority is to complete the analysis and reach out with more information as quickly as possible. To enable this work to happen quickly, we respectfully request that scholars and units not send emails about individual affected cases or scholars until we develop and share these updates.