Developments for International Students

I had the pleasure of tuning into a Cornell webinar this afternoon regarding new rules facing international students. It's not on YouTube yet, but likely will be here soon.

As Kevin blogged about earlier this summer, the second Trump administration has taken steps to change international student stays in the United States. The big change ends "duration of status" (D/S) stays for international students. Instead, international students will get a a set "admit until date" (AUD) that is the length of their program or 4 years, whichever is shorter. Students will need to follow an "extension of stay" (EOS) process if they need more time to complete their academic program.

The webinar also introduced new restrictions on school transfers, changes of objective/major, and level. Undergrads cannot make changes (e.g. from an engineering to drama major) until they've completed one full academic year. Graduate students cannot make changes.

By the by, there is a pending lawsuit challenging the new "admit until date" rules. A hearing on the plaintiff institutions' motion for a preliminary injunction will be held this week or next. If not enjoined, the rules go into effect September 15.

There are also two new memos regarding CPT (curricular practical training) that the administration released just this month: here and here. The long and short of it is that CPT will be granted only if every student within the major/program are required to complete practical training:

CPT cannot be authorized solely for the purpose of employment or for experiences that are not required or otherwise formally recognized as part of the academic program.

Finally, the webinar mentioned a website that hadn't yet been on my radar: https://www.internationalstudent.us. "The International Student Resource Center provides accurate and timely U.S. immigration information" at this site. Definitely one to bookmark!