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

A federal memo dated Aug. 24, 2026 from the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told universities the agency had "observed a rise in Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorizations that appear to violate regulatory requirements which permit CPT only where the training is an integral part of an established curriculum." The memo 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; it followed an earlier notice in mid-August.\n\nCPT is the mechanism through which international students on F-1 visas take internships and other off-campus training tied to their degrees. Conditioning a school's entire certification on the agency's reading of that rule gives ICE leverage over university programs without a rulemaking.\n\nUCLA said it has paused certain CPT authorizations while it reviews the guidance. UC Berkeley's international office called the memo "more narrow in focus, more direct, and includes content that is more restrictive in nature" and said it was unlikely to process certain applications soon. DHS said "nothing about these regulations has changed" but that "abuse of this generous system will no longer be tolerated."