New federal guidance limits international student internships
International students at Augustana University are facing new restrictions on which internships they can pursue following federal immigration guidance.
International students on F-1 visas need special permission, called Curricular Practical Training (CPT), to do an internship for their degree. Following two messages in August, that permission will now be granted only if every student in the program is required to do an internship. At Augustana, students who had already arranged fall CPT can finish their internships by Dec. 11.
The federal guidance states that CPT is meant strictly for academic training. But Hadassah Mbiyu, a sophomore student from Kenya studying political science and business, said the compensation that sometimes comes with an internship helps international students afford basic necessities.
Mbiyu said that because F-1 students are ineligible for federal work-study, they have fewer ways to cover unexpected costs.
“CPT helps deal with those minor things so that we can actually focus, like all the domestic students, on the studying, the academics,” she said. “I don’t want to have to stress about what I’m eating, as compared to someone who knows they can always go back home and have food.”
What is changing
Unlike domestic students, international students seeking an internship must get approval from a Designated School Official, who updates their federal immigration record. At Augustana, that process is overseen by April Valentine, associate director for international services in the Knudson Center for Global Engagement (CGE). Previously, Valentine said, universities had more authority to approve CPT if an internship was either required or “integral” to the curriculum.
On Aug. 12 and Aug. 24, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program — a division of ICE — tightened that standard. In the messages, the agency said it had observed a rise in CPT authorizations that did not meet regulatory requirements and warned that schools suspected of abusing the program to create work opportunities rather than academic training could face investigation.
Citing the Merriam-Webster definition of “integral” as “essential to completeness,” the agency stated an internship only qualifies if a student cannot graduate without it. Universities must also hold signed training agreements with every sponsoring employer, or they could face federal audits, legal penalties or losing their certification to enroll international students.
Valentine said the government did not pass a new law, but altered its interpretation of existing regulations.
“We have to take a much more restrictive view of CPT because it’s not completely us saying this — it’s the federal government,” Valentine said. “There are several different constituency groups that we’re trying to protect, number one being the students, ourselves and the institution.”
Following the August messages, universities across the country began pausing or restricting CPT. While some schools, like UC Berkeley, suspended applications for CPT entirely, others implemented temporary, sweeping freezes. Boston University and the University of Southern California immediately paused processing for all non-mandatory internships.
Augustana is allowing students who had already arranged fall CPT to finish the semester through Dec. 11, the last day of finals.
Going forward, majors that require internships for all students will still qualify for CPT.
More than classroom credit
For Mbiyu, who is applying for CPT through her business major to train with the South Dakota Black Chamber of Commerce, off-campus internships provide important professional connections in Sioux Falls. When paid, those positions also help international students cover basic necessities like transportation to and from their internship and meals over breaks.
Mbiyu noted that many international students stay in the dorms over breaks when dining halls close, buying their own groceries and paying for Uber or Lyft rides when public transit schedules do not line up.
Mbiyu saw how fast those costs can add up when she tore her ACL last year. After her insurance stopped covering physical therapy sessions, she had to use savings from her on-campus job to pay out of pocket over winter break for extra appointments, transportation and groceries.
“If I was to have another emergency, I don’t know how I would have survived if something else went wrong,” Mbiyu said. “Because I had these funds in my account, I could sustain myself.”
A ‘tsunami’ of federal proposals
The change is the latest in a series of Trump administration actions affecting international students, according to Christina Sanchez, executive director of the CGE.
“There’s been waves, but it’s really more like a tsunami hitting us,” Sanchez said.
A federal rule scheduled to take effect Sept. 15 sought to eliminate “duration of status,” replacing open-ended student stays with a fixed admission period capped at four years, cutting the post-graduation grace period from 60 days to 30 days and requiring students to pay hundreds of dollars to petition the government for extensions or major changes. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Sept. 14 blocking the rule while a lawsuit continues.
The government has also proposed requiring universities to pay a $70,000 fee for each international student they recommend for Optional Practical Training (OPT), which allows eligible F-1 graduates to work in their field in the U.S. for up to one year. The proposal would require an additional $30,000 for subsequent OPT authorizations, including two-year STEM extensions.
“It’s extremely disappointing to be navigating in the current administration, which consistently has put forward an agenda that is not supportive of our international community,” Sanchez said. “The anxiety, the stress, the uncertainty can be overwhelming, and we feel that just from having to navigate policy.”
For Mbiyu, the proposals make it difficult to recommend studying in the U.S. to friends or younger relatives back home.
“Even the little that we can do for ourselves is continually being taken away from us,” Mbiyu said. “It just feels like a reminder that this is not where you belong.”
How campus is responding
To help offset the loss of off-campus internships, Mbiyu said students are advocating for expanded on-campus employment. Because many campus jobs are reserved for federal work-study — which F-1 students cannot use — Mbiyu said she hopes departments will create more non-work-study positions and paid research opportunities.
Meanwhile, Regis Dzenga, Augustana Student Association (ASA) vice president and an international student himself, said the senate is working to ease transportation and food costs for students who stay on campus during breaks.
To help students get around Sioux Falls, ASA partnered with Sioux Area Metro to provide free year-round bus transit. Dzenga is also focusing on food insecurity over winter break, when hundreds of international students remain on campus while meal service is not provided.
While the Campus Cupboard food pantry offers a starting point, Dzenga said an unmonitored pantry cannot ration out a steady 30-day supply of food on its own.
Instead, ASA is working with CGE staff, the Office of Faith and Spiritual Life, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and local businesses to sponsor communal meals at the church and organize CGE van trips to local food banks. ASA plans to survey students through the CGE newsletter to gauge how many need meals before finalizing any plans.
“We can’t change CPT rules and regulations the way they stand, but we can try our absolute best to alleviate some of the stresses that they add to students,” Dzenga said. “The federal government may not welcome you, but we welcome you.”
