Dear International Students,
On Wednesday 12 August 2026 ISS received a Guidance Memo from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) related to the liability when processing applications for CPT. The provisions and criteria for authorizing CPT identified in the memo are narrow in nature and raise questions about the policy and practice ISS currently follows. The memo specifies that CPT should only be authorized in cases in which the CPT is a requirement of the degree for all students in the degree program, without which the degree would be unattainable.
In light of this new guidance memo, and to minimize risk to you and to the university, ISS is temporarily imposing a pause until further notice on processing applications for “Course Credit” CPT, which is where the training/internship is considered integral to the program of study, but is not a degree requirement. This will also avoid any potential problems for you in the future should you seek other immigration benefits such as Extension of Stay and OPT.
ISS will continue processing “Degree-Requirement” CPT as normal.
We are currently consulting with legal counsel on how to proceed in the longer term. As soon as we receive additional guidance, we will provide an update on our practice going forward. There may also be a possibility of legal challenges to this new guidance which may allow us to resume processing “course credit” CPT applications at some point.
Students whose course credit CPT applications have already been fully processed and who have already received a CPT I-20 from ISS are not affected by this pause and may participate in the CPT opportunity specified on their CPT I-20 if they wish.
Should you have any questions, please reach out to ISS for assistance at internationalstudents@ucr.edu.
We have not taken this decision lightly as ISS knows the importance that “course credit” CPT plays in your academic journey. We want to assure you that UCR values your presence on this campus and is committed to ensuring that your academic experience is fulfilling and rewarding. We will support you to the full extent allowed by law.
The ISS Team