U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on Aug. 14 that it will publish revised editions of Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, on Sept. 15, 2026. Both new versions carry the edition date 09/15/26. They replace the 08/21/25 edition of Form I-765 and the 08/28/24 edition of Form I-539.
The unusual part is what USCIS said next: there is no grace period. When the agency revises a form, it normally keeps accepting the prior edition for weeks or months while filers use up printed copies. Not this time. USCIS will reject the 08/21/25 edition of Form I-765 and the 08/28/24 edition of Form I-539 if they are postmarked or electronically submitted on or after Sept. 15, and it will accept only the 09/15/26 editions from that date forward.
The reason is the rule sitting behind the revision. Both forms were rewritten to align with the final 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 — the regulation that ends “duration of status” (D/S) for F, J and I nonimmigrants and replaces it with a fixed admission period. That rule also takes effect Sept. 15, 2026. USCIS says the revised editions are necessary for it to apply the rule, which is why it will not accept the older versions even briefly.
The reach here is wide. Form I-765 is the work-permit application used by F-1 students requesting OPT and STEM OPT, by H-4 and L-2 spouses, by adjustment-of-status applicants filing alongside a pending Form I-485, and by TPS and asylum applicants. Form I-539 covers extensions and changes of status for F, J, B, H-4 and L-2 holders. Between them, these two forms touch a very large share of everyone with a pending immigration matter in the United States.
The practical advice is simple but time-sensitive. If you can file before Sept. 15, use the current edition and file now. If your filing window falls after Sept. 15, wait and download the new edition. The danger zone is the first half of September: a package that leaves your hands in early September but is postmarked on or after Sept. 15 with the old form will be rejected and returned. A rejected filing is not a filing — it does not stop the clock on an expiring status and it does not protect against a gap in work authorization. Before you sign anything, check the edition date printed at the bottom of each page against the version posted on uscis.gov.
Need help with your immigration petition? Visit QuickFiling.us for AI-guided NIW and EB-1A petition preparation.
Source: USCIS Newsroom Alert