A legal challenge to the Trump administration’s tighter interpretation of Curricular Practical Training (CPT) rules for international students is set to come up for a hearing on Nov 6, with four major higher education organisations seeking to block the changes that have prompted several US universities to suspend or restrict CPT authorisations.
The lawsuit challenges two broadcast messages issued by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), part of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), on Aug 12 and Aug 24, 2026. The messages set out a stricter interpretation of existing CPT requirements and highlighted the compliance responsibilities of designated school officials who authorise CPT for F-1 international students. CPT allows eligible F-1 students to undertake practical training directly related to their academic programmes.
An internship that carries academic credit but is optional may therefore no longer qualify.
NAFSA executive director and CEO Fanta Aw said the changes had placed university officials responsible for international student compliance in a difficult position. She said the abrupt changes had created “significant new restrictions and uncertainty” for designated school officials, who must advise international students and ensure that their institutions comply with immigration rules. Berkeley has suspended applications for “Course Credit CPT”, but continues to process applications for degree programmes where an internship or field placement is a documented graduation requirement for all students. Yale University has also said it will process CPT requests when the training is integral to an established curriculum and required of all students in the programme for degree completion.
Under the revised federal interpretation, the training must be an integral part of an established curriculum and required of all students in the relevant degree programme for degree completion. At Harvard University, several schools have stopped authorising CPT for placements that do not meet the revised criteria. It appears that CPT is currently unavailable for affected placements at Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School, the Graduate School of Design and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Harvard’s international office says it will authorise CPT for F-1 students only when the opportunity is a formal requirement of the degree programme, successful completion of the degree is contingent on the training, and the required internship or practicum is offered by sponsoring employers through cooperative agreements with the school.
“This resumption applies only to requests that meet the current federal requirements,” the university states. The University of Pennsylvania, meanwhile, has resumed processing CPT requests where the practical training is an integral and required component of the student’s established curriculum.