As US universities started pausing CPT (Curricular Practical Training), which is a temporary work authorization for F-1 students, triggering confusion over the future of international students in the US, Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued another memo clarifying and doubling down on the new restrictions. CPT allows F-1 students to gain off-campus work experience, internships, before graduating and hence it has to be related to the student’s major. For approval of these internships, students do not have to go to immigration; the university itself can approve them. ICE said the university administration is not giving these approvals judiciously.On August 12, ICE issued a directive to all schools and universities stating that CPT has to be an integral part of the course. Many universities, including UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC San Diego, Purdue, Santa Clara paused the approvals of CPT programs.In the new memo, ICE explained some of the frequently asked questions and made it clear that all students attending the same course must do CPT as it must be mandatory. American students, too, will have to do this, otherwise it’s not valid because it’s not mandatory then.
How is CPT defined in regulation?
A foreign student may be authorized by a DSO (Designated School Official) to participate in a CPT program that is an integral part of an established curriculum. Curricular practical training is defined as alternative work/study, internship, cooperative education or any other type of required internship or practicum that is offered by sponsoring employers through cooperative agreements with the school.
How is CPT different from Optional Practical Training?
Optional Practical Training (OPT) is training that is not an integral part of a student’s established curriculum. OPT is not intended to fulfill the requirements of a student’s program of study and successful program completion does not require participation in OPT; it is optional. In contrast, CPT fulfills an integral element of an established curriculum and successful completion is contingent on participation in CPT.
Can CPT be offered as a part of an elective course?
In any instance where an elective course is optional, making the CPT optional, the integral and required aspects of CPT would not be met. CPT is an integral part of an established curriculum and the practical training is required for all students participating in that curriculum, regardless of citizenship.
Because CPT is allowed only where the training is an integral part of an established curriculum, does that mean that all students enrolled in the established curriculum must participate in and complete practical training?
Yes. Unlike OPT, participation in CPT is not optional for any student participating in an established curriculum that the school has determined requires CPT as an integral part of the educational experience. This means that all students — foreign and American — are required to participate in practical training if they are enrolled in an established curriculum where practical training is integral.The question-answer part of the memo said that while auditing and investigating schools to ensure compliance, SEVP (Student and Exchange Visitor Program) has noted that some institutions have described CPT as if it is optional practical training and not integral, despite clear regulatory requirements. SEVP has also discovered that some institutions have not required all students enrolled in the same established curriculum to participate in practical training, despite clear regulatory requirements that CPT is permitted only where the practical training is an integral part of an established curriculum.
Are foreign students required to proactively request CPT authorization from their DSO?
Yes. Foreign students must make an official request for authorization for CPT to their DSO so that the school can confirm that the student is participating in an established curriculum where practical training is integral, make a determination that the training is directly related to the student’s major area of study, and update the student’s SEVIS record to ensure that DHS can conduct proper oversight as required under federal law.
Must all CPT be conducted by sponsoring employers that have established cooperative agreements with the school?
Yes. Schools should only enter into cooperative agreements with legitimate, bona fide employers who are able to provide a quality practical training experience to students. CPT students should have access to practical training managed by an employer who has entered into a cooperative agreement with a school where it is agreed the employer will sponsor the school’s students for specific training such as an alternative work/study, internship, cooperative education or any other type of required internship or practicum that is specific to the student’s major area of study. Students are not expected to obtain EADs for this training which is an integral and required part of the curriculum.Immigration attorney Emily Neumann said this is not how CPT is used by universities. “When an agency needs a second, three-page broadcast just 12 days later to explain what the first one meant, that tells you the first one raised some serious questions,” Neumann wrote.
