US Tells Universities to Curb Curricular Practical Training
Table of Content
Key Highlights:
- SEVP told designated school officials to authorise curricular practical training only where the placement is an integral, required part of the curriculum, in broadcast messages dated 12th and 24th August 2026.
- Nothing in the actual regulation has changed, but universities that authorise improperly risk losing the SEVP certification that allows them to enrol international students.
- The crackdown is aimed at "Day 1 CPT" schools, where work-integrated learning is central to the recruitment proposition.
- A federal court blocked the Admit-Until-Date rule on 14th September 2026, adding another layer of uncertainty for international students.
ICE Sets a Narrower Test for CPT Eligibility
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), which is administered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), issued two broadcast messages to designated school officials at SEVP-certified schools on 12th and 24th August 2026. Both messages directed schools to authorise curricular practical training (CPT) only where the placement forms an "integral part of an established curriculum".
In the first message, SEVP said that it had observed a rise in CPT authorisations that do not meet regulatory requirements. The second one set out question-and-answer guidance narrowing how SEVP assesses that test. SEVP framed the threshold as whether the absence of the placement would make attaining the degree impossible.
While neither message alters the underlying regulation, both raise the cost of non-compliance. SEVP warned that schools suspected of using CPT to create work opportunities rather than academic study may face investigative action that could result in withdrawal of their SEVP certification, the authorisation that allows a school to enrol international students. School officials sign a CPT-related form under penalty of perjury, which places personal liability on individual staff as well as on the institution.
What This Guidance Implies
The Department of Homeland Security has been explicit that nothing about CPT regulation has changed, while adding that schools and employers should consider themselves "on notice". Although the legal position is unchanged, the enforcement posture is not the same. Carnegie Mellon University has described the government’s memos as "extra-regulatory".
Many universities are already making adjustments in anticipation of any rule change. The University of Colorado Boulder now processes CPT requests only for students whose degree or major requires practical training for completion, as specified in the university catalogue. The scale of the pullback is contested. Media reports suggest that most universities are pausing elective CPT while continuing curriculum-linked placements. Immigration counsel tracking public announcements described the number of institutions announcing pauses in late August as small relative to the thousands of SEVP-certified schools. So far, a minority of institutions have curtailed authorisations to date, though the trajectory points in a single direction.
Exposure May Be Narrow but Signals Travel Wide
Direct exposure at major research universities is limited. At UCLA, less than 25% of international students take part in CPT, a fraction of the number using optional practical training (OPT). The institutions that treat CPT as a recruitment proposition are a small and identifiable group, colloquially known as Day 1 CPT universities, where work-integrated learning is a dominant feature of the business model.
The perception effect is wider than the compliance effect, and it lands on an already weak base. US study visa issuance to international students fell 23% YoY in 2025. Media reports in July 2026 showed that Cornell University enrolled 209 fewer new graduate students in the most recent intake, with declines across nearly all of its schools. Michigan State University paused admissions to most of its advanced humanities programmes for a year to assess long-term sustainability. Similarly, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology absorbed a 20% drop in the federally funded research underpinning its graduate programmes.
Court Blocks the Admit-Until-Date Rule
On 14th September 2026, a US district judge granted nationwide preliminary relief against the DHS final rule that would have replaced Duration of Status with fixed Admit-Until-Date admission periods capped at four years. The rule was published on 17th July 2026 and was due to take effect on 15th September. The order bars DHS and ICE from implementing or enforcing it while the litigation continues, so Duration of Status remains in place nationwide.
The court found that DHS had not responded adequately to public comments or considered less burdensome alternatives, and wrote that the government's national security rationale "borders on the absurd". It granted preliminary relief but denied, without prejudice, the plaintiffs' requests for summary judgment and vacatur of the rule. The case was filed on 18th August 2026 by NAFSA: Association of International Educators and seven other associations and unions. The case does not address CPT, so the injunction offers no protection against the August guidance.
What to Watch Out for
For students already authorised for CPT, the practical position is unchanged. A placement genuinely required by the curriculum should still be approved, but the burden of proof has shifted. Universities will ask for a clearer paper trail tying each placement to a specific mandatory course, and approvals may take longer.
- The Duration of Status case returns to court for a status conference on 2nd October 2026, and the preliminary injunction remains open to appeal.
- DHS has slated a new OPT rule for publication in February 2027, with a US$100,000 participation fee under discussion but not yet at the proposal stage.
- Mid-term elections on 3rd November 2026 will determine how much room the administration retains to tighten work authorisation for international students in the USA.