{
 "standard": "data/img-cycle.json — the 2027 Match cycle registry. Every deadline, window and rule date rendered anywhere in the IMG vertical derives from this file. No page contains a typed date, and no page contains the words 'tomorrow', 'now open' or 'next week'.",
 "matchYear": "2027",
 "asOf": "2026-09-01T21:00:00-07:00",
 "sourcesCheckedAt": "2026-09-01T21:00:00-07:00",
 "dateRule": "Each row carries its authority, its stated instant where the authority states one, and a datePrecision note where it does not. A row whose instant has passed transitions to CLOSED and moves to the concluded list; it is never deleted.",
 "milestones": [
  {
   "id": "eras-2027-season-open",
   "date": "2026-06-04",
   "title": "2027 ERAS season began",
   "authority": "AAMC",
   "state": "CLOSED",
   "kind": "SEASON MILESTONE"
  },
  {
   "id": "ecfmg-token-distribution",
   "date": "2026-06-24",
   "title": "ECFMG distributed IMG ERAS tokens",
   "authority": "ECFMG / Intealth",
   "state": "CLOSED",
   "kind": "ACCESS MILESTONE",
   "note": "The token is what lets an IMG open an ERAS application. Without it nothing else in the cycle starts."
  },
  {
   "id": "eras-applicant-submission-opens",
   "date": "2026-09-02",
   "instant": "2026-09-02T09:00:00-04:00",
   "title": "Applicants may begin submitting ERAS applications",
   "authority": "AAMC",
   "state": "OPEN",
   "kind": "SUBMISSION WINDOW OPENS",
   "note": "9:00 AM ET. Submitting on the first day confers no documented advantage; programs cannot see applications until 23 September."
  },
  {
   "id": "eras-program-review-opens",
   "date": "2026-09-23",
   "instant": "2026-09-23T09:00:00-04:00",
   "title": "Residency programs may begin reviewing applications",
   "authority": "AAMC",
   "state": "OPEN",
   "kind": "REVIEW WINDOW OPENS",
   "note": "9:00 AM ET. This is the operative deadline for most applicants: signals assigned to applied programs cannot be edited after it."
  },
  {
   "id": "oet-last-recommended-sitting",
   "date": "2026-12-31",
   "title": "ECFMG-recommended last OET sitting for 2027 Match participation",
   "authority": "ECFMG / Intealth",
   "state": "OPEN",
   "kind": "RECOMMENDED DEADLINE",
   "datePrecision": "ECFMG recommends taking OET no later than the last available December 2026 test date; the exact last date depends on the test centre calendar",
   "note": "A recommendation, not a rule. It exists because Pathway review needs the score before the January deadline."
  },
  {
   "id": "pathway-application-deadline",
   "date": "2027-01-31",
   "title": "ECFMG Pathway application deadline for 2027 Match participation",
   "authority": "ECFMG / Intealth",
   "state": "OPEN",
   "kind": "HARD DEADLINE",
   "note": "The single most consequential IMG date in the cycle. A Pathway application not filed by this date ends 2027 Match eligibility regardless of exam scores."
  },
  {
   "id": "nrmp-rol-opens",
   "date": "2027-02-01",
   "title": "NRMP rank order list entry opens",
   "authority": "NRMP",
   "state": "OPEN",
   "kind": "RANKING WINDOW",
   "datePrecision": "early February; confirm the exact date against the NRMP calendar before relying on it"
  },
  {
   "id": "match-week",
   "date": "2027-03-15",
   "endDate": "2027-03-19",
   "title": "Match Week, including SOAP",
   "authority": "NRMP",
   "state": "OPEN",
   "kind": "MATCH WEEK"
  },
  {
   "id": "eras-season-ends",
   "date": "2027-05-31",
   "title": "2027 ERAS season concludes",
   "authority": "AAMC",
   "state": "OPEN",
   "kind": "SEASON MILESTONE"
  }
 ],
 "immigrationDates": [
  {
   "id": "dhs-fixed-admission-effective",
   "date": "2026-09-15",
   "title": "DHS fixed-period admission rule takes effect for F, J and I nonimmigrants",
   "authority": "DHS (final rule)",
   "instrumentType": "FINAL RULE",
   "state": "EFFECTIVE PENDING",
   "kind": "RULE EFFECTIVE DATE",
   "effect": "Replaces duration-of-status admission with fixed-date admission. For J-1 physicians the I-94 becomes the controlling document; initial admission generally follows program length or four years, whichever is shorter; training longer than the admission period may require an Extension of Stay with USCIS or another lawful admission mechanism; a DS-2019 alone no longer automatically extends authorised stay.",
   "note": "Intealth states DHS did not exempt J-1 physicians. The seven-year overall limit on physician clinical training sponsorship is unchanged."
  },
  {
   "id": "dhs-cap-subject-fee-comment-close",
   "date": "2026-09-24",
   "title": "Comments close on the proposed $103,265 fee for H-1B cap-subject petitions",
   "authority": "DHS (proposed rule)",
   "instrumentType": "PROPOSED RULE",
   "state": "OPEN FOR COMMENT",
   "kind": "COMMENT PERIOD CLOSES",
   "effect": "Proposed, not in force. By its terms it would apply to cap-subject petitions including advanced-degree-exemption petitions — which is why cap-exempt status becomes strategically significant if it is finalised."
  },
  {
   "id": "h1b-100k-proclamation-status",
   "date": "2026-06-08",
   "title": "The $100,000 H-1B proclamation fee was vacated by a federal district court",
   "authority": "U.S. District Court; First Circuit",
   "instrumentType": "LITIGATION",
   "state": "NOT CURRENTLY ENFORCEABLE",
   "kind": "LITIGATION STATUS",
   "effect": "The district court vacated the policy on 8 June 2026; the government appealed; the First Circuit declined the government’s stay request on 24 July 2026. On that record the $100,000 requirement is not currently enforceable. Litigation continues, so this status is provisional and dated.",
   "litigationCheckedAt": "2026-09-01"
  }
 ],
 "note": "Deadlines and immigration dates are separate lists because they answer different questions and change on different clocks. An application deadline is fixed by an organisation’s calendar; an immigration date can move by rulemaking or by a court order."
}