Immigration Rules and Court Calendar, Nov 2026 to Mar 2027: Every Date for F-1, H-1B and Green Cards

Every hearing, comment deadline, funding cliff and expected rule date between November 2026 and March 2027, each with an honest status label.

Part of our guide to Day 1 CPT.

Status as of November 1, 2026. This immigration rule changes timeline runs from November 2026 to March 2027. Today the Duration of Status (D/S) rule is blocked by a federal court, the OPT fee is only proposed, the CPT guidance is in effect but challenged, and the $100,000 H-1B fee is not being collected. Every date below carries its status: scheduled, expected, or computed by us.

Immigration rule changes timeline 2027: the short answer

Between November 2026 and March 2027, no final rule is scheduled to change F-1, OPT or H-1B status. The dated events are court deadlines (the CPT hearing on 2026-11-06, D/S appeal briefs from 11-09), comment closings (11-09, 11-10, 11-13), the 12-11 funding deadline, the end of the 119th Congress on 2027-01-03 and an FY2028 H-1B registration that is expected in March 2027 but not announced.

The full calendar, November 2026 to March 2027 (as of 2026-11)

Calendar as of 2026-11-01; dates are 2026 unless marked. "Computed" is our arithmetic from the court's schedule; "expected" means not announced. Check the source before you rely on a row.

What immigration deadlines are coming up in November 2026?

The densest stretch is November 6 to 13: one court hearing, three comment closings and a USCIS filing cutoff. None of them makes a rule take effect; when a comment period closes, the proposal stays a proposal until a final rule is published.

• OPT fees, 11-09 (docket ICEB-2026-0100): the school would pay $70,000 before the initial OPT recommendation and $30,000 before each later one, STEM OPT included, and could pass the cost on. More than 4,700 comments (as of 2026-11-01).
• Worker 60-day grace period, 11-10 (RIN 1615-AD22): covers H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, E-1, E-2, E-3, TN and dependents, not F-1 or OPT. About 27,000 comments.
• Deference, 11-13 (docket USCIS-2026-0529): would delete 8 CFR 214.1(c)(5), under which USCIS defers to a prior approval on I-129 extensions. About 400 comments.

Our walkthrough of the November comment deadlines explains each proposal and how to comment. No final rule existed on 11-01.

November 9 is also a filing cutoff

USCIS's Form I-129 page says: "Starting Nov. 9, 2026, we will accept only the 09/09/26 edition." Mailing addresses for the I-765, I-539, I-485, I-131, I-129, I-907 and others changed on 2026-10-07, and the filing-locations update accepts old addresses only if postmarked on or before 11-09. The I-140 is not on that list.

When will the courts rule on the D/S and CPT cases?

No court has set a decision date for either case. The D/S court can rule any time after summary-judgment replies on 2026-11-02, and the CPT court any time after its 2026-11-06 hearing. Until a court acts, the D/S rule stays blocked and the CPT broadcasts stay in force.

Duration of status

Judge Saylor's 2026-09-14 order postponed the effective date of the D/S final rule (91 FR 44976) under 5 U.S.C. 705 and left vacatur and summary judgment for later; the current briefing decides those. USCIS's Form I-539 page says DHS "is preliminarily enjoined from taking any further action to implement the final rule" and "USCIS will proceed under the previous regulatory provisions." D/S and the 60-day F-1 grace period apply today.

DHS's 2026-10-30 cross-motion asks that any relief be "a remand to the agency without vacatur" or limited to the plaintiffs. On appeal (1st Cir. 26-2112, expedited), DHS's brief is due 2026-11-09. By our count from the clerk's schedule (response 30 days after service, reply 10 days later), the response falls around 12-09 and the reply around 12-19, a Saturday, so likely 12-21 (NAFSA lists Dec. 19). Our D/S appeal tracker explains each possible outcome.

CPT

In AAU v. DHS (D. Mass. 1:26-cv-14520, Judge Kobick), the government's 2026-10-28 opposition argues no standing, no final agency action and no irreparable harm; on 10-30 the court granted the plaintiffs leave to reply. The preliminary-injunction and stay hearing is 2026-11-06 at 3:00 p.m. SEVP's BCM 2608-01, which allows CPT only "if its absence would make the attainment of a degree an impossibility," remains in force. The CPT regulation is unchanged; pauses at MIT, Rochester and UC Berkeley are school decisions (see our CPT lawsuit explainer). Ask your DSO before you plan a 2027 internship around CPT.

H-1B dates: the $100,000 fee, grace period and deference

The $100,000 fee is not being collected as of 2026-11-01, and no date in this window is set to restart it, though an appeals ruling could change that at any time. Proclamation 11069 stays in effect on paper until 2027-09-21, but courts blocked the agency policies that implement it. USCIS's I-129 page adds: "If this order is later lifted, DHS still plans to collect the payment."

The appeal dates in the calendar are briefs, not rulings. In the Global Nurse Force district court, according to reports, Judge Gilliam refused on 10-28 to pause proceedings and set a case-management conference for 11-24. In Chamber of Commerce v. DHS (D.C. Cir., argued 2026-03-09), where the fee was upheld below, we found no decision through late October. The $100,000 fee lawsuit timeline tracks each ruling. Because neither proposal is final, the 60-day worker grace period and deference both still apply.

When is the next H-1B registration?

USCIS has not announced the FY2028 registration as of 2026-11-01. Under 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(A)(3) it must announce at least 30 calendar days ahead, so March 2027 is an expectation, not a date. The registration page still shows FY2027 (March 4 to 19, $215). Wage-weighted selection has been in effect since 2026-02-27. Our FY2028 registration guide covers preparation.

When does the government funding deadline hit?

Public Law 119-103 funds the government through 2026-12-11; a lapse would start 12-12 unless Congress passes funding by then. Congress returns 11-09. Conrad 30, E-Verify, the non-minister religious-worker program and supplemental H-2B run only "for the duration of the CR", according to the Congressional Research Service.

Fee-funded USCIS kept processing during the 76-day DHS-only lapse (2026-02-14 to 04-30), and SEVP was unaffected. This resolution also funds DOL, so by precedent its LCA, PERM and prevailing-wage processing could stop in a lapse. E-Verify went offline in the 2025 shutdown. See our December shutdown guide.

Green card dates: Visa Bulletin, EB-5 fees and public charge

• December Visa Bulletin (expected mid-November). In November, EB-2 India's Final Action Date stayed at 2013-11-01, EB-3 India moved to 2014-01-22, and USCIS required the Dates for Filing chart (USCIS filing charts). December numbers are forecasts until State publishes; consular cases always use Final Action Dates.
• EB-5 fees (2026-11-30, by postmark). I-526E rises to $7,850 and I-829 to $5,000, among others.
• Public charge. In effect and challenged; states' summary-judgment motion 12-11, briefing ends 2027-03-12.
• PERM. DOL's labor-market-test proposal (RIN 1205-AC29) cleared White House review 10-23 but is unpublished, so current 20 CFR 656.17 applies. The PERM suspension DOL announced 10-08 for eight named employers has no written notice or end date and is not an H-1B suspension.

Everyone: Congress, taxes and travel

The 119th Congress ends at noon on 2027-01-03, and every pending immigration bill dies with it. None has passed a chamber, including S.J.Res. 213, the resolution against the D/S rule, which sits on the Senate calendar with no vote.

Scheduled by statute: for tax years after 2026-12-31, the Marketplace premium tax credit is zero for lawfully present people who are not "eligible aliens", a group that state summaries say includes H-1B, H-4 and F-1/OPT holders. The regulations are only proposed (comments due 11-30). Take your household's coverage question to a tax professional who handles nonresident and visa-holder returns.

Proclamation 10998 (39 countries) is unchanged; its 180-day review falls around mid-December by our arithmetic, and no outcome or amendment has been announced. Over winter break, D/S still applies because the rule is blocked.

Which rules could be published in early 2027?

Rules pipeline, as of 2026-11-01. "Under OIRA review" means an unpublished draft at the White House, with no text and no comment period.

A proposal binds only once a final rule is published and reaches its effective date; significant rules go back through OIRA first, and lawsuits often follow. The H-1B reform draft is known only by its agenda abstract: "revising eligibility for cap exemptions, providing greater scrutiny for employers that have violated program requirements, and increasing oversight over third party placements." No proposed or final rule ends the H-4 EAD; DHS lists a long-term agenda item with no proposal date.

A worked timeline: a December 2026 graduate on F-1

Say your program ends in mid-December 2026 and you plan to file for post-completion OPT.

• OPT fee. The proposal reaches only DSO recommendations dated on or after a final rule's effective date, 60 days after publication. Comments close 11-09, so even a final rule published the next day could not take effect before about 2027-01-09 (our arithmetic). A final rule could change these terms; confirm with your DSO.
• Weekend deadlines. Under PA-2026-15 (in effect since 2026-10-23), a day-counted paper deadline ending on a weekend or holiday rolls to the next business day; online filings never roll. Our reading is that this covers the 30-day DSO-recommendation and 60-day post-program windows on paper; confirm with your DSO.
• Grace period. The 60-day F-1 grace period applies while D/S is blocked.
• Unemployment. Once OPT starts, the limit is still 90 days (150 in total if you later move to STEM OPT). Any "60-day OPT unemployment" claim is wrong.
• Processing and travel. USCIS's processing-times tool showed 80% of (c)(3) student I-765s completed within 5 months (read 2026-11-01). Cornell, JHU and USC advise against international travel while initial OPT is pending.
• FY2028. If an employer will register you, the window is expected around March 2027 but has not been announced.

How to check any date on this calendar yourself

1. Open the CourtListener dockets for AAU v. DHS (after 11-06) and the D/S case (after 11-02) and read the newest order, not news summaries.
2. Search the Federal Register for docket ICEB-2026-0100, USCIS-2026-0529 or RIN 1615-AD22 to see whether a final rule has published.
3. Check reginfo.gov's OIRA review list for RINs 1615-AD00 and 1615-AD25, and the Federal Register for DOL's RIN 1205-AC29.
4. Read the USCIS H-1B Electronic Registration Process page for the FY2028 announcement.
5. On the day you mail an I-765, I-539 or I-129, confirm the edition and address on the form's own uscis.gov page (for example Form I-129) and the USCIS forms updates page.
6. Ask your DSO about anything touching SEVIS, CPT or OPT, and a licensed immigration attorney about petitions or status strategy.

Common mistakes

• Reading a comment deadline as an effective date. "OPT now costs $70,000" is false. After 11-09 the comment period is closed but the rule is still a proposal, and the school would be the legal payer.
• Believing D/S ended on September 15. A court blocked the rule on 2026-09-14, and DHS's appeal does not revive it. eCFR and FederalRegister.gov metadata still show the rule as live; neither proves it is.
• Mixing up the two 60-day grace periods. The worker proposal does not touch the F-1 grace period, and no 30-day or 180-day H-1B grace period exists or is proposed.
• Treating a bill as law. No immigration bill has passed a chamber, and all die on 2027-01-03.
• Assuming a shutdown stops USCIS. Fee-funded USCIS kept working in 2026; the exposure is DOL (by precedent) and E-Verify.
• Reading "under OIRA review" as a new rule. Drafts at the White House have no public text; nothing about premium processing, cap exemptions or PERM ads has changed.

Frequently asked questions

What immigration deadlines are coming up in November 2026?

The busiest stretch is November 6 to 13, 2026. The CPT lawsuit hearing is November 6 at 3 p.m., OPT-fee comments close November 9 and worker grace-period comments November 10 (both 11:59 p.m. Eastern), and deference comments are due by November 13. November 9 is also the last postmark date for old USCIS filing addresses, and from then USCIS accepts only the 09/09/26 Form I-129.

When will the courts rule on the D/S and CPT cases?

No court has set a decision date. The D/S court can rule any time after summary-judgment replies on November 2, 2026, and the CPT court any time after its preliminary-injunction hearing on November 6 at 3 p.m. Until a court acts, the D/S rule stays blocked and the CPT guidance stays in force.

When does the government funding deadline hit?

Public Law 119-103 funds the government through December 11, 2026, so a lapse would start December 12 unless Congress passes funding by then. Conrad 30, E-Verify, the non-minister religious-worker program and supplemental H-2B run only as long as that resolution. Fee-funded USCIS kept working in the 2026 DHS-only lapse, but by past precedent DOL's LCA, PERM and prevailing-wage work could stop.

When is the next H-1B registration?

USCIS has not announced the FY2028 H-1B registration period as of November 1, 2026, and it must give at least 30 calendar days of notice. March 2027 is an expectation based on past seasons, not an announcement; the FY2027 period ran March 4 to 19 with a $215 fee. Wage-weighted selection has been in effect since February 27, 2026.

Which rules could be published in early 2027?

ICE's Practical Training rule (RIN 1653-AA97) has a February 2027 proposal target in the regulatory agenda, a target rather than a commitment, with no text. H-1B reform and premium-processing drafts are under White House (OIRA) review, and DOL's PERM proposal has cleared that review; none has a publication date. The OPT-fee, grace-period and deference proposals can become final only after the comments are reviewed.

Sources

• CourtListener, D/S case (D. Mass.) and appeal (1st Cir. 26-2112)
• CourtListener, AAU v. DHS (CPT)
• Federal Register, Optional Practical Training Fees
• Federal Register, worker 60-day grace period proposal
• Federal Register, deference proposal
• USCIS, Form I-129, Form I-539 and filing locations update
• USCIS, H-1B Electronic Registration Process
• govinfo, Public Law 119-103 and CRS report R49353 on the CR
• Federal Register, EB-5 fee rule and premium tax credit proposal
• reginfo.gov, RIN 1653-AA97 and RIN 1615-AD00
• State Department, Visa Bulletin

How we checked this: we read the CourtListener dockets and docket feeds, the Federal Register entries (through its API), reginfo.gov agenda entries, govinfo, the CRS report and the USCIS form, filing-location and registration pages cited above on 2026-11-01 and 2026-11-02. Dates marked "computed" or "our arithmetic" are our own counts from the court's schedule, not court-set dates.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your own I-20, I-94, EAD and approval notice govern; take F-1, OPT and SEVIS questions to your DSO, and petitions or status strategy to a licensed immigration attorney.

A calendar tells you when the rules might move; your search has to keep moving either way. If you are on OPT or STEM OPT and targeting employers that sponsor, F1Jobs can help you run that search.