Understanding the Visa
Many students are confused about the visa document and how it relates to their immigration status. Here is a bit more information that will help you make sense of it all.
What Is a Visa?
The visa is the entry stamp in an individual’s passport that allows them to enter the United States. You must apply for it at an American consulate or embassy outside of the United States. The visa certifies that you are eligible to apply for admission at a U.S. “port of entry” in a particular immigration classification, such as F-1, J-1 or H-1B.
Note: A port of entry is a place where you can legally enter the United States. Usually, it has CBP (Customs and Border Protection) staff there who can review the immigration paperwork of entering individuals. Typically, students coming to DePauw enter through a port of entry that is an airport.
What Is a Visa Status?
When you’re admitted into the United States at a port of entry, you are required to present your passport (with the entry visa in it) and other supporting documents to a Customs and Border Protection officer. The officer then decides whether you are eligible to enter the United States and how long you can stay.
Ideally, they then officially admit you to the United States in a nonimmigrant status that matches the visa in your passport. This is your visa status, also called an immigration status.
The most common visa statuses at DePauw are F-1 and J-1 for students. Your visa status should be stamped in your passport and generates an I-94 arrival/departure record.
Duration of Status (D/S) and the I-94
When you enter the United States in F-1 student or J-1 exchange visitor status, your I-94 arrival record should list your “Admit Until Date” as D/S, meaning duration of status. This indicates that you are allowed to be in the U.S. as long as you continue to meet all requirements of your immigration category. Your permitted stay is tied to the program end date on your Form I-20 (for F-1 students) or Form DS-2019 (for J-1 visitors). Once you reach that program end date, your lawful status comes to an end, keeping in mind that applicable grace periods (60 days for F-1, 30 days for J-1) and extensions through OPT and STEM also affect your ability to stay in the U.S.
The I-94 record is a record of your arrival to the U.S. Every time your enter (or re-enter) the U.S., make sure to print out a copy and check the visa category and “admit until date” for accuracy. The I-94 system also keeps track of travel history—but only keeps track of 5 years of travel at a time.
On August 28, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released a proposed rule titled “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.” This proposal would eliminate the current duration-of-status system, but it is still in the public comment stage and has not been implemented.
At this time, no action is required from you. The D/S framework continues to apply while the government reviews the proposal. Your current immigration documents—and any authorized employment such as on-campus work, CPT, OPT, or Academic Training—remain valid under existing regulations. Continue to follow the travel guidance provided by ISA and monitor your email for updates.