EOR & Compliance Digest, July 30: DHS Ends “Duration of Status” for Foreign Students and Scholars

The DHS duration of status rule change is the story every startup with F-1 or J-1 hires needs to read this week. Starting September 15, USCIS drops the old “stay as long as you’re enrolled” model. As a result, every student and exchange-visitor admission now gets a hard expiration date. Meanwhile, Australia rewired how super gets paid. Singapore, in turn, raised the bar for what counts as a local hire. In addition, the UK floated a rule that could put salary ranges in every job ad. Four countries, four different clocks. Here’s what changed and what to do before each deadline lands.

DHS Ends Duration of Status for F-1 and J-1 Visa Holders

What the DHS Duration of Status Rule Changes

Specifically, the Department of Homeland Security published a final rule in the Federal Register on July 17. It eliminates “Duration of Status” (D/S) for F (academic students), J (exchange visitors), and I (foreign media) nonimmigrants. The change then takes effect September 15. Before this rule, someone on D/S stayed in status for as long as they kept meeting their program’s terms. In short, there was no fixed end date on file. Now, under the new rule, every F-1 and J-1 admission gets an “Admit Until Date”. That date ties to the program end date on the I-20 or DS-2019, capped at four years. In addition, I nonimmigrants get up to 240 days. Anyone already in the country on D/S keeps their current program end date, or gets four years, whichever comes first. So they won’t need a corrected I-94 to do it.

Why This Matters for Distributed Teams

You may sponsor F-1 OPT or STEM OPT hires. Or maybe you bring in J-1 interns and trainees. Either way, the DHS duration of status change means their work authorization is no longer open-ended. There’s now a specific date on file, and it expires. Once that date passes, the person falls out of status right away. The only exception is an approved extension already filed with USCIS. Because of this rule, the departure grace period also drops from 60 days to 30. Picture a 30-person startup with two F-1 engineers on OPT. For that team, it’s a much tighter window to sort out a green card sponsorship, a status change, or an exit plan.

What To Do Before September 15

First, pull the I-20 and DS-2019 end dates for every F-1 and J-1 person on your team. Do it now, while you still have runway. Then build a renewal calendar that starts the extension-of-stay filing roughly 90 days before each program end date. After all, USCIS processing takes time, and biometrics are now part of it. Tell hiring managers the departure window is 30 days, not 60. So nobody should assume there’s extra slack at the end of a program. Still weighing alternatives for an international candidate? An Employer of Record in the candidate’s home country sidesteps this timeline entirely.

Australia’s Payday Super Takes Effect

From July 1, Australian employers must pay the Superannuation Guarantee at the same time as wages. Quarterly payments are gone, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman. Specifically, the SG rate sits at 12%. Contributions, in addition, must land in the employee’s fund within seven business days of payday. Miss that window, however, and the penalty is real. The super guarantee charge now compounds interest daily, and on top of that sits a penalty of 25% to 50% of the unpaid amount, depending on your compliance history, under the ATO’s new Super Guarantee Charge rules. So what does this mean for you? If you run payroll for even one Australian employee, confirm your provider or EOR switched to per-payday remittance. Otherwise, a “we’ll catch up next quarter” habit is now a real compliance risk.

Singapore Raises the Local Qualifying Salary to $1,800

Singapore’s Local Qualifying Salary rose from S$1,600 to S$1,800 a month on July 1. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong first flagged the change at the February Budget address, and local reporting confirmed it when it took effect. In addition, part-time workers moved from S$9 to S$10.50 an hour. This number matters because it decides how a local employee counts toward your foreign-worker quota. At or above S$1,800, they count as a full local headcount. Between S$900 and S$1,799, by contrast, they count as half. Below S$900, they don’t count at all. Say, for example, you employ a mix of local and foreign staff in Singapore. Then a junior or part-time local hire who cleared the old $1,600 bar might now only count as half a headcount. So recheck your dependency ratio math for Singapore hires before your next Work Permit or S Pass renewal. Otherwise, this kind of gap tends to surface only when the paperwork gets rejected.

UK Opens Consultation on Pay Transparency in Job Ads

The UK’s Cabinet Office opened a 15-week public consultation on July 14. It could require employers in England, Wales, and Scotland to publish salary information in job adverts or before an interview, according to the consultation document on GOV.UK. Whether that means exact figures, ranges, or benchmark rates is still under discussion. The consultation closes October 27. For now, this is a proposal, not a rule. It would need an Act of Parliament to become binding, so nothing changes in your job postings today. Still, if you’re revising hiring templates for UK roles this year, building in a salary range now costs little. And it gets you ahead of a change with real momentum behind it.

Quick Hits

• Canada: The CRA’s mid-year T4127 payroll update took effect July 1, driven mainly by British Columbia’s higher personal tax rate. So if you have staff in BC, Newfoundland and Labrador, or PEI, confirm your payroll system loaded the new withholding tables.
• India: The government notified final rules under all four Labour Codes on May 8. But state-level notification is still uneven, since labour remains a concurrent subject. So confirm the specific status in each state where you employ staff or contractors.

Action Items After the DHS Duration of Status Change

• United States: Audit every F-1 and J-1 employee’s program end date now. Then start extension-of-stay filings roughly 90 days out.
• Australia: Confirm your payroll or EOR provider pays super on payday, not quarterly, and that it lands within seven business days.
• Singapore: Recheck local salaries against the new $1,800 Local Qualifying Salary before your next Work Permit or S Pass quota review.
• United Kingdom: Start drafting salary ranges into UK job ad templates. Nothing is mandatory yet, but the direction is clear.
• Canada and India: Confirm your payroll provider loaded the new BC withholding tables. Then check your state-specific Labour Code status in India before year-end audits.

None of these five changes will show up on a standard payroll report until something breaks. A lapsed F-1 grace period. A missed super payment. A quota miscount in Singapore. Asanify’s Global HRMS, instead, tracks visa status dates, country-specific payroll deadlines, and quota math in one place. As a result, a deadline like September’s DHS duration of status change won’t slip past you. So if you’re hiring across two or more of the countries above, this week is a good time for a quick audit.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the DHS duration of status rule change for F-1 and J-1 visa holders?

It replaces the open-ended “Duration of Status” model with a fixed “Admit Until Date.” That date ties to the program end date on the I-20 or DS-2019, capped at four years for F-1 and J-1, and 240 days for I nonimmigrants. It takes effect September 15, 2026.

Do I need to do anything before September 15?

Yes. First, pull the program end dates for every F-1 and J-1 employee. Then start any extension-of-stay filing about 90 days before that date expires. The departure or status-change grace period also shrinks from 60 days to 30.

How does Australia’s payday super change affect employers?

From July 1, 2026, employers must pay the 12% Superannuation Guarantee at the same time as wages, not quarterly. Contributions must reach the employee’s fund within seven business days. Otherwise, the unpaid amount accrues daily interest plus a penalty of 25% to 50% of the shortfall.

Does Singapore’s Local Qualifying Salary increase change my foreign worker quota?

It can. Local employees paid at least S$1,800 a month count as a full local headcount toward your foreign-worker quota. Those paid S$900 to S$1,799, however, count as half. Anyone below S$900 doesn’t count at all.

Is the UK now required to publish salary ranges in job ads?

Not yet. The UK government opened a public consultation on July 14, 2026 that could require it. But the proposal would need an Act of Parliament to become law, and the consultation doesn’t close until October 27, 2026.

Not to be considered as tax, legal, financial or HR advice. Regulations change over time so please consult a lawyer, accountant  or Labour Law  expert for specific guidance.