UC Berkeley Pauses Course Credit CPT Program Over Federal Immigration Concerns

The Berkeley International Office paused Course Credit CPT on 8/12/2026, citing an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Guidance Memo about school officials’ liability when processing CPT applications. The university says the option is temporarily unavailable and will not be authorized.

The suspension affects the route that tied off-campus employment to enrollment in an internship, field study, practicum or related course. It does not end every form of Curricular Practical Training, which lets F-1 students obtain work-based experience connected to their degree program.

One route remains available. Degree Requirement CPT can cover an internship, practicum or capstone experience that every student in a program must complete to graduate.

That authorization may cover paid or unpaid work. The academic department determines whether it should be full time or part time.

Degree-required internships remain eligible under a separate route

UC Berkeley identifies specific programs where practical training or employment forms part of the degree requirement. The university says this category can be used once to satisfy that requirement and should occur during the program’s normal internship period.

The listed programs are:

• Bachelor of Science in Educational Sciences, 3 units EDUC W144, part-time only during Fall/Spring
• Masters of Analytics
• Masters of Bioengineering/Masters of Translational Medicine, only if needed to complete Capstone Project: Bioengineering 296
• Masters of Biotechology
• Masters of City Planning
• Masters of Design (MDes)
• Masters Development Engineering (MDE)
• Masters of Development Practice
• Masters of Financial Engineering, only during the dates of 1 designated internship period
• Masters of Journalism
• Masters of Landscape Architecture
• PhD in Metabolic Biology
• Master of Nutrition Science and Dietetics (MNSD)
• Master of Business Administration (MBA)
• Masters of Public Affairs
• Masters of Public Policy
• Masters of Public Health (MPH)
• Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)
• MRED+D
• Masters of Social Welfare
• Masters of Teacher Education (BTEP)
• Optometry Residency Program
• PhD in School Psychology

The academic requirement must be genuine. Ordinary continuing off-campus employment does not qualify merely because it relates to a student’s interests.

CPT exists only during the degree program. Any off-campus work, whether paid or unpaid, requires authorization before employment begins.

Eligibility still depends on status, enrollment and supervision

An F-1 student generally must hold valid status for two full-time semesters, or 1 academic year, before becoming eligible for CPT. The university lists two rare exceptions.

One applies to graduate students whose programs require an internship before the first academic year ends. The other covers students who changed from another U.S. visa category to F-1 status after remaining enrolled full time for an academic year during the change-of-status period.

The job must directly relate to the student’s current degree. Its duties must also fit the student’s level of study and major field.

Some positions will be rejected. Retail sales, food service and other unskilled jobs do not meet the stated standard.

Students must be registered at UC Berkeley. Graduate students cannot use CPT while on Filing Fee status.

A student must carry a full course load or qualify for a Final Term Reduced Course Load. CPT cannot be used in the same semester as a First Semester Academic Reduced Course Load or Medical Reduced Course Load.

Final-term reduced-load students face an additional requirement. They must complete required in-person degree coursework unless final-term CPT is the only remaining degree requirement.

Supervision must also meet the university’s conditions. An internship supervisor cannot be an F-1 or J-1 student, and the office does not authorize self-employment.

Transfer students generally are not approved during their initial UC Berkeley term. Students seeking to transfer and begin immediately should consult an adviser before applying.

Work hours change with the term and authorization category

The rules for the suspended course-credit pathway limited Fall and Spring employment to 20 hours per week or less. Work dates had to overlap the relevant internship enrollment or degree-requirement dates.

The normal start date was the beginning of instruction. The normal end date was the last day of final exams.

Students could seek dates extending into the semester break immediately before or after the internship term only when they had a legitimate academic reason. The employment still had to connect to the authorized academic period.

Summer rules were different. Continuing students could work 20 hours or more per week during summer under the course-credit rules.

First- and final-summer students faced a 20-hour-per-week limit. CPT also could not be their only course enrollment unless they were completing a degree requirement during the normal internship period.

Degree Requirement CPT follows its own summer provisions. A student continuing into Fall could receive authorization from the day after the spring semester officially ended through the last day of summer, the day before fall classes begin.

Students completing their degrees in summer could remain authorized only until whichever came first, the I-20 end date or the Summer term end date.

Advanced doctoral candidates may qualify for full-time Fall/Spring employment when the work is integral to completing a thesis or dissertation. The final semester carries a separate ceiling.

CPT in that semester is limited to part-time work of 20 hours per week. It must end on the last date of finals.

CPT hours count separately from on-campus employment hours. The university treats CPT as part of the academic program of study.

Course enrollment previously had to mirror the job

Before the pause, the course-credit category required enrollment in a class where employment was needed for a grade or where the student developed a research project based on the job.

Enrollment had to be in the student’s major department, the intended major for an undeclared student, or an approved Berkeley internship program. Students with multiple majors had to use the major directly connected to the work.

Employment and enrollment had to run concurrently. Authorization was issued one semester at a time, and the job dates had to overlap the internship semester.

Common undergraduate choices included 97/197 Internship/Field Studies and 99/199 Independent Study. Other listed options were Haas Undergraduates 193C Internship, Environmental Design 193, ARCH 108 and LD ARCH 160.

The list also included UCDC participants’ UGIS C196B, UGIS W157 or UGIS W158 for Berkeley Global Internships, UGIS C151 for the Independent U.S. Summer Internship Credit Option, and UGIS 192A-E for the URAP Program.

Common graduate choices included 297 Internship/Field Studies and 299 Independent Study. Listed alternatives included Haas MBA 293C Individual Supervised Study, Landscape Architecture LD ARCH 260 or LA 297, Public Policy 299 or 205, School of Information INFO293, and PhD in Business Administration PHDBA 602C.

Law students could use Law 297 or 299 through Boalt, including Law 297 for summer CPT. Other listed options included Earth & Planetary Science 280 and PhD in Economics 602 or 299.

The university listed UCDC internship enrollment for law students and UCDC participants. A Master’s of Translational Medicine does not qualify for course-credit CPT.

Summer enrollment also carried Summer enrollment fees. The academic department determined the number of internship units, while the university’s Summer Sessions fee schedule determined the cost.

The filing clock starts only after the adviser completes the request

The standard CPT processing time is 5 business days, excluding weekends and holidays. That period begins only after the academic or program adviser completes the Advisor Recommendation section of the CPT e-form.

Students must submit the complete request, including the Advisor Recommendation, at least 2 weeks before the employment start date. The university offers NO EXPEDITES.

CPT cannot be backdated. Students must not begin work until authorization appears on a new CPT I-20.

The employer must print and complete the CPT Employment Verification Letter Template on company letterhead. The letter’s employment dates must match the dates in the CPT request e-form.

An application without the template letter will be denied. Incomplete requests can also be denied or delayed.

After the adviser submits the recommendation, the Berkeley office reviews the student’s eligibility and request. If approved, it issues a new I-20 with the employment information noted on page 2.

Students must have that CPT I-20 in hand on the first day of employment. They show it to the employer as evidence of work authorization.

An extension requires the student to repeat the application process. A course-credit extension also previously required proof of enrollment for the next term.

Paid CPT requires a Social Security Number application. Students apply after receiving the CPT I-20.

Heavy CPT use can affect later immigration benefits

Using 12 months or more of full-time CPT at the same degree level makes an F-1 student ineligible for post-completion Optional Practical Training. Part-time CPT does not reduce OPT eligibility.

High CPT use may still draw additional scrutiny. The university says that scrutiny can arise during later OPT, visa or other Department of Homeland Security benefit applications, including H-1B petitions.

UC Berkeley has noted a significant increase in Requests for Evidence involving STEM OPT applications and H-1Bs for students with high rates of CPT usage. Students should retain every prior CPT I-20 and records showing how the employment formed an integral part of the degree program.

The course-credit pause is dated 8/12/2026. The separate degree-requirement category remains tied to the programs and academic periods identified by the university.