US Tightens Internship Restrictions for International Students
The Trump administration has increased permission criteria for internships and Curricular Practical Training (CPT) for foreign students with F-1 visas. Universities that fail to comply risk losing their federal license to accept international students. The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), which is run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), issued an order on August 24th requiring stricter regulations to ensure that all CPT approvals remain a direct and essential part of a student’s major and required curriculum.
Prominent universities such as the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) temporarily stopped or restricted certain CPT applications in response to these directions while they reviewed the new guidelines. Universities are taking serious steps to reduce compliance risks and protect their institutional SEVP certificate status, even if doctoral dissertation and master’s thesis research CPT and required degree-completion training are still in existence.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that no formal changes were made to the current legal CPT rules in response to the policy change. However, the department made it clear to colleges and businesses that, going forward, President Trump’s administration will enforce strict regulations and accept no misuse of the foreign student employment system.
In 2024, 130,586 international students obtained practical work permission through CPT, while numerous others used STEM OPT and Optional Practical Training (OPT) pathways, according to ICE figures. For international students looking to gain professional experience in the US, this higher degree of regulation generates new uncertainties because approval procedures for any activity unrelated to academic degrees become much more difficult. For thousands of potential international scholars around the country, these broad administrative changes might drastically shift enrollment patterns and career prospects, according to educational experts.
Source: Reuters
