Dear Erica,
A lot can happen in a week! Where to begin…
On Monday, October 5, NAFSA joined the Association of American Universities, Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, and the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts in filing a complaint and a motion for preliminary injunction in response to the administration’s drastic changes to Curricular Practical Training (CPT) for international students. Two broadcast messages sent by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last August state that students will only be eligible for CPT when such practical experiences are mandatory for all students in a program. This means that an academically supervised internship or practicum for course credit would be unavailable to an international student if it is an elective rather than a graduation requirement for their degree.
As NAFSA executive director and CEO conveyed in a joint press release, “Changing how CPT is administered through broadcast messages, without formal rulemaking, is an aberration that must be challenged,” said NAFSA Executive Director and CEO Fanta Aw. “These abrupt changes have placed Designated School Officials—the professionals responsible for advising international students and ensuring institutional compliance—in an untenable position, forcing them to navigate significant new restrictions and uncertainty without the clarity and due process that formal rulemaking provides." Review the complaint and bookmark NAFSA’s litigation page on the CPT case for updates. We will keep you posted here too.
Speaking of rulemaking, on October 7, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a proposed rule that introduces a new fee structure for Optional Practical Training (OPT). The rule proposes that before the first recommendation for any kind of OPT (pre-completion, post-completion, or STEM OPT) at a specific school, the school must pay an initial $70,000 fee. Each subsequent recommendation of any kind of OPT by a Designated School Official (DSO) at the same school for the same student would trigger a $30,000 fee. The rule suggests institutions may pass the fee on to the students or their employers.
In an unexpected plot twist, a Student and Exchange Visitor Program regulatory notice sent on October 8 contradicts the rule by saying the $30,000 fee only applies to the first extension, thus capping the overall fee per student at $100,000. Regardless of the particulars, NAFSA CEO, Fanta Aw again had strong words for the administration, saying in a statement that was picked up by the Associated Press and beamed to 500 outlets worldwide, “Driving away the talents, perspectives, and aspirations of international students will only hurt American innovation, economic growth, workforce development, and global leadership.” There is a 30-day comment period that ends on November 9. You can count on NAFSA to provide guidance on comment letters in the days ahead. Be sure to bookmark nafsa.org/OPTfees.
And in the good news department, six U.S. states have filed a lawsuit challenging the $810 million pocket recissions that include nearly $70 million in Fiscal Year 2026 congressionally appropriated funds for the Department of Education’s Title VI international education and foreign language programs. The American Council on Education led a September 30 letter in calling on Congress to reverse the recissions. We have a campaign below for you to add your voice!
Feeling fed up? Don’t despair! Here are some tangible ways to dig in!
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Thank you kindly.
Best,
Erica
Erica Stewart
Senior Director, Advocacy & Strategic Communications
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
