Higher Education Groups Sue Over New CPT Rules

Plaintiffs allege Administrative Procedure Act violations

The lawsuit alleges the government violated the Administrative Procedure Act by implementing a narrower interpretation of CPT eligibility without utilizing the appropriate administrative rulemaking process. Plaintiffs filed the action against the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the U.S. Department of Justice regarding changes made to CPT via two broadcast messages.

The filing of the lawsuit on October 5 did not result in an automatic suspension of the August broadcast messages. The agency states that its broadcast messages are agency guidance and not a substitute for legal requirements or a final agency action.

SEVP issues restrictive August broadcast messages

New guidance issued by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) in August 2026 has significantly narrowed how universities are being instructed to evaluate CPT eligibility. On August 12, 2026, SEVP issued Broadcast Message 2608-01, titled "Reminder of Liability for DSOs Regarding CPT Authorization," which warned university officials that SEVP had observed CPT authorizations that appeared inconsistent with federal requirements.

On August 24, 2026, SEVP issued Broadcast Message 2608-02, providing more detailed guidance to Designated School Officials regarding the requirement that practical training be an "integral part of an established curriculum". SEVP now instructs schools that practical training must be essential to completing the relevant academic curriculum and required of students participating in it, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status.

The August 2026 guidance clarifies that simply registering for an internship elective, paying for an internship course, or receiving academic credit does not necessarily establish that the work is integral to the established curriculum. The University of Michigan's August 28, 2026, explanation confirmed that universities are now being instructed to evaluate CPT using this stricter standard.

Georgetown University suspends elective CPT approvals

The Trump administration advised universities in August that CPT should only be approved when graduation would otherwise be "an impossibility". Georgetown University suspended elective CPT approvals in response to this guidance, restricting off-campus work for international students to only those instances required by their major curriculum.

Within Georgetown’s undergraduate schools, only majors in the School of Nursing and the School of Health include requirements that qualify for CPT under the new policy. Georgetown’s Cawley Career Education Center maintains a spreadsheet of companies that previously hired Georgetown F-1 students through CPT or optional practical training (OPT), though it does not reflect current eligibility under the tightened CPT policy.

F-1 students are permitted to work for Georgetown University for up to 20 hours per week during the academic term without needing CPT authorization. International students can work for organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, but these positions require federal government authorization rather than university authorization. The federal government has not eliminated CPT or the exception that permits qualifying graduate students to begin CPT during their first academic term.

Administration faces broader scrutiny over immigration and funding

On October 12, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) sent a letter to Congress to correct the record on the mission, purpose, and achievements of Title VI international education programs affected by the administration’s pocket rescission. President Trump announced an $810 million pocket rescissions package on September 26 that included approximately $70 million for Title VI international education programs. The Government Accountability Office reviewed the pocket rescission action and found that the Impoundment Control Act does not grant the president the pocket rescission authority claimed by the administration. On September 30, California and six other states filed a lawsuit challenging the pocket rescission, alleging violations of the Constitution and federal law.

On October 8, the Trump administration announced investigations into the use of J-1 visas at nine universities, including four APLU members. During a White House news conference, Vice President JD Vance alleged that universities are using J-1 visas for research and graduate-level positions in ways that "undercut the wages of American grad students and American researchers". Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito stated that subpoenas have been served and investigations are underway regarding whether "foreign influence, improper financial relations, or visa abuse" are affecting federally funded research.

Historical context of federal immigration rules

In 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) received 22,000 comments that were overwhelmingly opposed to a rule but pushed forward with it anyway, a move that Judge Saylor criticized last month. In 2020, DHS received more than 32,000 comments with over 99% opposed to a rule and subsequently walked away from it. On July 6, 2020, ICE announced a rule, leading Harvard and MIT to sue on July 8, and by July 14, ICE rescinded the rule five minutes into a hearing before Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston. Following the 2020 rule announcement, more than 200 universities filed briefs, 17 states and DC filed their own suit, and eight federal lawsuits were filed within a week. The duration of status rule was blocked last month in the same federal courthouse in Boston where the 2020 rule was rescinded. A separate immigration rule announced by ICE on July 6 was rescinded on July 14 following multiple federal lawsuits.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which created the F-1 category, was written by Senator Pat McCarran and Representative Francis Walter and passed over President Harry Truman's veto. A 1947 rule allowed international students to stay and work after finishing coursework, and a federal appeals court has noted that Congress has never repudiated this interpretation in nearly eighty years. The current version of OPT, which provides twelve months tied to a student's major, originated from a regulation issued under George H.W. Bush in July 1992. Section 641 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, signed by Bill Clinton in 1996, required the government to build an electronic system to track foreign students and mandated that students pay for it. The PATRIOT Act accelerated the development of the SEVIS system, which had been ordered by Congress five years earlier. President Ronald Reagan both ended and brought back duration of status within a two-year period between 1981 and 1983.