President Donald Trump’s administration has issued a memo for universities that seeks to restrict the issuance of certain internship work authorisations for international students, as the federal government warned that colleges not complying with the regulations may lose certification to enroll foreign students.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, has “observed a rise in Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorisations that appear to violate regulatory requirements which permit CPT only where the training is an integral part of an established curriculum. The federal memo dated August 24 said the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which is part of the U.S.
“Failure to comply with SEVP regulations may result in an institution losing certification to enroll foreign students,” the memo said.
UC Berkeley’s international office said the August 24 memo was “more narrow in focus, more direct, and includes content that is more restrictive in nature.
The UC Berkeley international office said it is extending the pause for certain work authorizations for international students for “the foreseeable future.” It said it will continue processing “degree-requirement” CPT as normal and would resume processing “Doctoral Dissertation and Master’s Thesis Research CPT. The office said it would consult with legal experts to develop new processes that align with new federal requirements. “Nothing about these regulations has changed,” the Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent, said in a statement. “However, schools and employers should consider themselves on notice: under President Trump, abuse of this generous system will no longer be tolerated.”
The federal government had also issued an earlier memo in mid-August.
“UCLA has paused certain Curricular Practical Training authorisations while it reviews recent federal guidance and determines next steps,” a UCLA spokesperson said.
