On April 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a Final Rule in the Federal Register, Removal of Obsolete Procedures and Requirements Related to F, J, and M Nonimmigrants, which finalizes the requirements from the Interim Final Rule published in December 2022 without any significant changes, responds to public comments and amends 8 CFR 214.2. As part of this Final Rule, DHS further clarifies who may provide documentation to substantiate a student’s illness or medical condition for authorization of a reduced course load, removes obsolete language and corrects a form title. The rule will become effective 30 days after date of publication in the Federal Register.

This rule follows the Interim Final Rule published on Dec. 12, 2022, which amended regulations at 8 CFR 214.1, 214.2, 214.3, 214.4, 214.12, and 214.13 to remove obsolete information, correct typographical errors, update references and citations and make minor clarifications to regulatory language. These changes were administrative, not substantive, and were necessary to remove obsolete procedures and requirements used before the implementation of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) or during the transition to SEVIS. The rulemaking does not raise existing costs or place additional burdens on F and M students, J exchange visitors, Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)-certified schools or designated Exchange Visitor programs.

Refer to the Federal Register notice for additional information about the changes made as part of this Final Rule. For additional questions, contact the SEVP Response Center (SRC) via phone at 703-603-3400 or 1-800-892-4829 or by email at SEVP@ice.dhs.gov.