August 2026 ICE Broadcast on CPT: Enforcement, Impact, and Practical Realities

On August 12, 2026, ICE issued a critical Broadcast Message (BCM Number: 2608-01) through the SEVP system reminding Designated School Officials (DSOs) of their legal responsibilities and personal liability regarding Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorizations.  This broadcast represents an aggressive enforcement push designed to curb perceived abuses with a chilling effect on CPT employment.

The Broadcast Key Message: Strict Enforcement on CPT Authorizations

The core purpose of the broadcast is to target CPT authorizations that fail to meet existing regulatory requirements—specifically instances where training does not constitute an "integral part of an established curriculum".

To address this, SEVP is clamping down with a very narrow interpretation of what makes practical training "integral". According to the message, DSOs should only authorize CPT employment "if its absence would make the attainment of a degree an impossibility." The broadcast mandates that the work associated with the CPT must be "required for all students pursuing that degree". CPT cannot be granted purely for employment purposes or for optional practical experiences that are not formally mandated by the academic program.

Furthermore, the broadcast reinforces the legal stakes for both institutions and individuals. F-1 students are reminded that they attest under penalty of perjury to be in the United States solely for full-time study. When a DSO signs or re-signs a Form I-20 to grant CPT, they are likewise certifying under penalty of perjury that the training is a required, integral component of the curriculum. If SEVP suspects that a school is misusing CPT to facilitate work opportunities rather than genuine study, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) may intervene, potentially leading to administrative penalties, legal consequences, or the complete withdrawal of the school's SEVP certification.

The Impact Across the International Student Ecosystem

The ripple effects of this heightened enforcement will touch every level of international higher education, transforming how students, universities, and compliance officers approach off-campus work.

• F-1 International Students

For international students, obtaining off-campus internship authorization will become significantly more difficult. Career-building opportunities, summer internships, and part-time professional roles that were previously authorized under broader interpretations of "curricular training" will no longer qualify unless they are explicit graduation requirements for everyone in the major. Students will need to demonstrate that their degree literally cannot be completed without the practical training component.

• SEVP-Certified Academic Institutions

Universities and colleges now face immense institutional and operational risk. While SEVP acknowledges that academic institutions retain the authority to define their own degree requirements, federal oversight will aggressively target schools suspected of structuring curricula simply to offer work authorization. Institutions are being forced to conduct immediate, comprehensive audits of their academic programs across all departments to ensure that CPT offerings strictly align with federal expectations. Furthermore, with SEVP encouraging the public, employers, and students to report suspected training fraud directly to HSI, schools face increased exposure to whistleblowers and external scrutiny.

• Designated School Officials (DSOs)

DSOs find themselves directly in the regulatory focus. Because signing a Form I-20 carries the weight of a legal attestation under penalty of perjury, DSOs face personal administrative and legal liability if an authorization is deemed improper. To mitigate this risk, DSOs must now maintain exhaustive evidentiary documentation supporting the curricular necessity of every single CPT request, frequently consulting with SEVP field representatives on edge cases to protect themselves and their institutions.

Conclusion: The Broader Fallout

While the broadcast explicitly states that it is not a formal rule change or a substitute for statutory requirements, its practical fallout will be immediate and far-reaching.

First, the message transmits an immediate chilling effect across the entire CPT program. Driven by the threat of personal perjury charges, institutional loss of SEVP certification, and HSI investigations, DSOs and university administrators will inevitably adopt an extremely risk-averse posture. Many institutions will likely suspend discretionary CPT options or decline requests that fall into any legal gray area, restricting authorization strictly to traditional, fully mandatory cooperative education programs. Popular programs such as "Day-1 CPTs" will likely be severely curtailed or completely eliminated. 

Second, this enforcement mandate will disrupt currently approved CPT employment. As schools scramble to implement the directives—specifically reviewing current academic requirements and re-evaluating existing authorizations—many DSOs may be forced to retroactively revoke or shorten active CPT approvals that do not meet the strict "degree impossibility" standard. Consequently, international students currently working in good faith could see their employment authorizations abruptly halted, leaving both students and host employers navigating sudden operational and compliance disruptions.

(Immigration laws and policies change regularly.  If you have any questions regarding this article, please visit www.1visa1.com to schedule a legal consultation.)  

 

University of Farmington: Another Fake School Setup by DHS

According to a Detroit News story published today, the University of Farmington in Detroit was set up as a fake school by the Department of Homeland Security in a sting operation to catch certain individuals that have been recruiting foreign students for profit.  

"These suspects aided hundreds of foreign nationals to remain in the United States illegally by helping to portray them as students, which they most certainly were not," according to the ICE Special Agent in charge.   

The indictments charged eight individuals with participating in a conspiracy to assist at least 600 foreign nationals to stay in the U.S. illegally. 

This is at least the second time that DHS has set up fake schools for law enforcement purposes.  From 2013 to 2016, another fake school, the University of Northern New Jersey (UNNJ), was set up and operated by DHS in Cranford, New Jersey, for a similar operation.  About 1,000 foreign students were involved and many of them had to leave the country after UNNJ was closed down. See, https://myimmigrationlawyer.blogspot.com/2016/04/1000-foreign-students-face-sudden.html

This is just another example that foreign students must be very careful when they select a school to attend in the United States.  Colleges and universities that offer something too good to be true -- e.g., multiple online or distance learning classes, generous CPT programs, relaxed grading policies, etc -- might not be legitimate educational institutions.  Students who enroll in them could end up losing their legal status and be forced to leave the country.

1,000+ Foreign Students Face Sudden Deportation

More than a thousand foreign students face sudden deportation following the closure of a New Jersey university and the prosecution of 21 alleged perpetrators in a "pay to stay" scam busted by the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  There is one twist - the college, University of Northern New Jersey (UNNJ), was actually created and has been operated by U.S. government officials since September 2013 in Cranford, NJ.

In recent years, federal officials have been actively engaged in investigation and prosecution of educational institutions that engage in visa fraud and other unlawful activities.  Specifically, announcements have been made about several high profile operations in relations to the F-1 student visa program and schools issuing the prerequisite document of the Form I-20 (Certificate of Eligibility for F-1 Student Status).  But this is the first time that the U.S. government actually went as far as establishing its own school to ensnare the perpetrators.

The primary targets of the operation are the most egregious violators in the scam - including 21 brokers, recruiters, and employers that have already been indicted by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Supposedly they are the middlemen that operated recruiting companies that lured students to sign up with the UNNJ.  Allegedly, instead of actually having to take classes like most students do in regular schools, the students at UNNJ would just have to pay tuition without having to attend classes or complete other academic requirements. Many of them enrolled in the schools' Curriculum Practical Training (CPT) programs which allowed them to be employed for an employer.

Now that UNNJ has been closed, what is going to happen to the 1,076 students?  Apparently, they are no longer in valid F-1 student status after the school's closure.  So far, the students are not yet being targeted for criminal prosecution.  It appears that their cases are being reviewed and handled on a case-by-case basis.  Anecdotally, some of them have already been visited and questioned by DHS officials regarding the circumstances of their enrollment with the school.  They are being offered the options of leaving the country on their own or face removal proceedings.  Some other students received formal notices advising that their status has been terminated, and that they could leave the country or try to apply for reinstatement of status. Reinstatement is a formal process that would allow a foreign student to regain their F-1 student status.

Granted, many of these students knew or should have known about the fraudulent scheme and knowingly participated in it.  Some others might have honestly believed that they were just signing up with a legitimate academic program that offered immediate CPT employment.  Foreign students coming from other countries do not necessarily understand the intricacies of the U.S. legal requirements. Yet, some others might have just wanted to save some money, as UNNJ charged substantially less tuition than most other schools.  

Students who truly believe that they did not intentionally participate in the "pay-to-stay" scam should attempt to make their stories known either in removal proceedings, reinstatement applications, or other written communications with the U.S. government.  Even if they have decided to give up their case and depart the country, it would still be important for them to present their side of the story for the record.  If they ever want to re-enter the U.S. this information could help to prevent or reduce any adverse inferences by consular officers in their future visa applications. 

Ten things employers and recruiters should know to avoid discriminatory practices

Recently, there has been news reports about how some online employment advertisements discriminate against U.S. workers by focusing on foreign workers in OPT/CPT or H-1B status. These are mostly information technology jobs posted by IT consulting firms and recruiters.  In light of the shortage of qualified high-tech U.S. workers, these employers and recruiters try to lure foreign skilled workers by offering them OPT/CPT or H-1B employment.  However, in doing so, they could be accused of engaging in discriminatory practices against U.S. workers.  Similarly, it is also possible for employers to post help wanted ads that discriminate against workers who are not U.S. citizens and legal residents.  The following are ten things that employers and recruiters should pay attention to in order to avoid violation of the law. 

1) In general, treat work-authorized job applicants equally in recruiting and hiring without regard to their citizenship status or national origin unless required by law.

2) Understand that in addition to U.S. citizens and legal residents, there are many classes of immigrants who are authorized to work in the United States.  For example, individuals with employment authorization documents (EAD) are authorized by the DHS to work.

3) If a certain position requires a specific citizenship status (i.e., U.S. citizen), carefully

review the legal support for such a requirement (i.e., law, regulation, government contract,

etc.) before posting the job advertisement.

4)  If not legally required, avoid unjustified discriminatory language against U.S. citizens in job postings, such as the "H-1Bs Only," “OPT Candidates Only/Preferred,” etc. 

5) If not legally required, avoid unjustified discriminatory language against non U.S. citizens/legal residents in job postings, such as the "Only U.S. Citizens", "Citizenship requirement", "Only U.S. Citizens or Green Card Holders", "Must have a U.S. Passport", "Must have a green card", etc. 

6) Avoid asking for I-9 qualifying identification required at time of application.  Employees have three days to produce such documents after starting work.

7) Avoid job requirements related to an individual’s national origin (i.e., language fluency requirements) unless they are necessary to perform the job effectively.

8) When completing the I-9 form for new hires, employers must accept any acceptable qualifying documents.

9) Ensure that all individuals involved in hiring and recruiting are familiar with equal employment opportunity laws.

10) Avoid asking for unnecessary personal information such as marital status and religious beliefs unless the information is needed for the performance of the job duties.

These guidelines are recommended by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel and should be followed by employers to avoid violation of the laws.