CPT allows internship for international students in USA

Student visa holders need to get OPT (Optional Practical Training) authorized to work off-campus. Similarly, F visa holders need to get CPT (Curricular Practical Training) authorized to participate in internship opportunities that meet the requirement. In this post, CPT regulations- what it is, who is eligible for, 2 types of CPT, and the CPT process- will be discussed. If you would like to know about how to participate in an internship for international students, this post will help you to not miss any important regulations.

Contents

• What is CPT
• Part-time CPT
• Full-time CPT
• Eligibility of CPT
• CPT authorization process

What is CPT

As the program name illustrates, “training” opportunities need to be “an integral part of an established curriculum,” or “offered by sponsoring employers through cooperative agreements with the school.” In this regard, for CPT, whether training is required by the curricular needs to be taken into consideration, and for this reason, the training must be directly related to the student’s major area of study.

Now the question is how students can know whether the training/internship opportunity that they found is eligible for CPT. If your program requires mandatory practical training (internship), then it is easy- you will need to get authorized for CPT before the training starts. However, if you are not sure, check out these examples of CPT, listed by the immigration regulations, which are alternative work/study, internship, cooperative education, or any type of required internship or practicum. If you find one of these opportunities, reach out to your DSO (immigration advisor) and ask if that opportunity will be eligible for CPT.

CPT rule doesn’t specify whether the training can be paid or unpaid. Thus, international students can be paid or unpaid or receive academic credits in exchange for interning.

An F-1 student may be authorized by the DSO to participate in a curricular practical training program that is an integral part of an established curriculum. Curricular practical training is defined to be alternative work/study, internship, cooperative education, or any other type of required internship or practicum that is offered by sponsoring employers through cooperative agreements with the school. 

8 CFR 214.2(F)(10)(I)

One of the important rules that CPT applicants should keep in mind is that CPT must be authorized before they engage in any training opportunities. Students should have the I-20 with CPT approved as you can see below and they can start working on and after the CPT start date as noted on the I-20.

A request for authorization for curricular practical training must be made to the DSO. A student may begin curricular practical training only after receiving his or her Form I-20 with the DSO endorsement.

8 CFR 214.2(F)(10)(I)(B)

Full-time CPT

There are two types of CPT based on how many hours you work per week- full-time CPT and part-time CPT. Working more than 20 hours per week is considered a full-time CPT. If the student is planning to apply for OPT, she or he needs to be careful with full-time CPT as working more than one year of full-time CPT will make the student not eligible for post-completion OPT. The bottom line is if you would like to take advantage of both OPT and full-time CPT, manage your full-time CPT work hours not to go over a year.

Students who have received one year or more of full time curricular practical training are ineligible for post-completion academic training.

8 CFR 214.2(F)(10)(I)

Related blog post: Must-know 4 eligibility for student visa OPT

Part-time CPT

If an internship for international students requires you to work less than 20 hours per week, it will be categorized as a part-time CPT. In terms of the part-time CPT, there’s no limit on how long the student can work in total, unlike full-time CPT, as long as the training is required by the curricular or is approved by DSO. On the other hand, if you are working on campus as well, both on-campus work hours and CPT work hours should not go over 20 hours while the school is in session.

SEVIS SAVVY tip: Although the current regulation doesn’t limit how many times the student can re-participate in part-time CPT, the student needs to get re-authorized for each session (semester or vacation). Also, it is worth mentioning that there are rising arguments that more than 365 days of part-time CPT can be viewed by USCIS that the student has had enough work experiences which, in turn, will prohibit them to get approved for OPT. Therefore, if you would like to take advantage of OPT upon graduation, you are encouraged to play safe by working less than a year with part-time CPT.

Eligibility of CPT

Unlike OPT, which you can apply for, even though you don’t have a job in your hand, CPT is an employer-specific program. In other words, students should have received the offer letter regarding the internship for international students in order to get CPT authorized. However, again, if you don’t meet the eligibility requirements, you cannot apply for CPT. Therefore, check the following CPT eligibility first, then, once you meet all of them, find the internship opportunities, and get CPT authorized. Again, it is always the best practice to reach out to your DSO to confirm that you meet the CPT eligibility.

• The student is currently in valid F-1 status at an SEVP-approved “college, university, conservatory, or seminary”
• The student “has been lawfully enrolled on a full time basis, in a Service-approved college, university, conservatory, or seminary for one full academic year”
  • To meet a full-time requirement, undergraduate students should be enrolled in 12 credits and graduate students should be registered for 9 credits.
  • Exceptions: graduate programs that require immediate participation in CPT
• The student will continue to be enrolled for a full course of study during the CPT
• “Students in English language training programs are ineligible for practical training”
• The training is “an integral part of an established curriculum”
• The training is “directly related to the student’s major area of study“

Practical training may be authorized to an F-1 student who has been lawfully enrolled on a full time basis, in a Service-approved college, university, conservatory, or seminary for one full academic year.

…Exceptions to the one academic year requirement are provided for students enrolled in graduate studies that require immediate participation in curricular practical training.

8 CFR 214.2(F)(10)(I)

CPT authorization process

The process to get authorized for CPT can be summarized as below. As there are many grey area in CPT regulations, institutional practices may be different depends on the school. Thus, it is good practice to reach out to DSOs (international advisors) to confirm the CPT authorization process.

• A student confirms that she or he meets the eligibility.
• Once the student confirms that he or she is eligible to apply for CPT, the student applies for internships.
• When the student receives the offer letter, complete the training plan or the form that the school requires with the employer.
• DSO reviews the form and requests the CPT on SEVIS.
• The student receives the updated I-20 with CPT requested.

In this blog post, the CPT program that allows F visa holders to engage in internship opportunities for international students is discussed. Since there are many grey areas in the CPT regulations, each university might have a different CPT authorization process. Therefore, please confirm with your DSO regarding the university policy on CPT.