Higher Education Groups Sue US Over Curricular Practical Training

Key Highlights:

• The Association of American Universities (AAU), the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts (AICUM) and NAFSA: Association of International Educators collectively filed a case against the changes in Curricular Practical Training (CPT).
• The consortium’s federal lawsuit against the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) argues that guidance from ICE on CPT violates the Administrative Procedure Act.
• The plaintiffs asked the court to block the guidance, first on an interim basis and then permanently, and to confirm that schools may authorize CPT under the previous interpretation.
• This is the second major legal challenge to DHS student visa policy filed in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts in recent weeks. 

Four Education Bodies File CPT Lawsuit

The AAU, the AICUM, NAFSA and Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration have jointly taken legal action against ICE, the DHS and the DOJ. On 5th October 2026, they filed a case in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts targeting two broadcast messages issued through the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) on 12th and 24th August 2026, not the CPT regulation itself. For more contextual background on this issue, read amber’s news report from 15th September 2026.

The plaintiffs say that the messages reversed a federal position held for more than 35 years without notice, explanation or a period for public comment. They also allege that the messages threatened designated school officials with institutional penalties and personal liability for practices the government had permitted for decades. 

Plaintiffs Say DHS Bypassed Formal Rulemaking

The plaintiffs have highlighted that the DHS changed a long-standing position through broadcast messages instead of a formal rulemaking procedure, which would have required public comment. The complaint also argues that the new test goes beyond the regulation and may adversely impact approvals already granted to international students.

The same district court ruled against DHS three weeks earlier in a separate case, though the current lawsuit may not be heard by the same judge. On 14th September 2026, the court blocked a DHS rule that would have set a fixed end date on international students' stay in the US, finding that DHS had not adequately answered public comments. However, that case was about a formal rule, and this one is about guidance issued through broadcast messages. The court is yet to review the new guidance pertaining to CPT for international students, so the outcome is still uncertain. 

Elective Internships Fall Outside the New Test

Under the new test, CPT is limited to placements that are a required part of the degree. An academically supervised internship taken for credit becomes unavailable to an international student purely because it is an elective.

The plaintiffs state that many institutions have halted CPT authorizations and that some students have lost positions that had been secured months earlier. That account comes from the litigants rather than from a survey, but it is consistent with reports of universities pausing elective CPT for international students while continuing curriculum-linked placements.

Guidance Stays in Force Until the Court Decision 

The request for a preliminary injunction is pending, and no hearing date has been announced yet. Until the court ruling comes through, the current guidance on CPT will remain in effect. 

Notably, the CPT lawsuit may shape the wider debate on work authorization for international students in the USA. The DHS has slated a new Optional Practical Training (OPT) rule for publication in February 2027, with a US$100,000 participation fee currently under discussion. Moreover, the run-up to and the results of US mid-term elections being conducted on 3rd November 2026 will determine how much room the administration retains to tighten work authorisation further.

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