DHS Memo Warns Universities They Could Lose the Right to Enroll Foreign Students Over Internship Work Permits

A federal memo dated Aug. 24 from the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, part of ICE, told universities the program has "observed a rise in Curricular Practical Training authorizations that appear to violate regulatory requirements," and warned that "failure to comply with SEVP regulations may result in an institution losing certification to enroll foreign students." Reuters reported it on Aug. 27. UCLA and UC Berkeley promptly paused categories of work-authorization processing; Berkeley called the memo more narrow in focus, more direct and "more restrictive in nature" than an earlier one issued in mid-August, and said it was unlikely to process certain applications "in the near future."

The lever is institutional rather than individual. Rather than contesting particular permits, the memo puts a school's entire ability to host international students at stake, giving universities reason to restrict students preemptively.

DHS said "nothing about these regulations has changed," but that schools and employers "should consider themselves on notice."