Curricular Practical Training

Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is temporary employment authorization for F-1 visa non-immigrant foreign students in the United States while enrolled in a college-level degree program. Students can receive employment authorization right after enrollment if the college considers the work "integral" to the student's study.[1]

CPT permission is granted through the institution's International Students Office or equivalent upon approval of advisor, pursuant to regulations established by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.[2][3] There is no fee for work authorization.[4]

CPT allows students to work in both paid and unpaid jobs.[4]

Students working with CPT authorization do not pay Social Security and Medicare taxes if they have been in the United States for less than five years.[4] For employers, hiring a CPT worker amounts to a 15.3% discount per student compared to an American citizen or permanent resident.[5]

Students who receive more than a year of full-time curricular practical training are ineligible for Optional Practical Training. Part-time CPT students who work less than twenty hours a week are still eligible for OPT.[3]

In 2018, the number of employed international CPT students peaked at 151,525, a 147.7% increase from a decade prior when the number of CPT authorizations was 61,171.[6]

CPT Employment Authorizations[6]
Year Number of Foreign Students on CPT
2011 63,911
2012 68,482
2013 76,223
2014 92,528
2015 111,135
2016 122,529
2017 132,380
2018 151,525
2019 116,338
2020 97,368

American technology and financial firms, along with semiconductor companies, are major employers of CPT students. Amazon is the largest user of the CPT program, with 9,302 participating students between 2003-2019. Intel is the second largest user of the CPT program, with 6,453 students participating, while Microsoft is the third largest user of the program, with 6,340 students.[7]

2003-2019 Employers of CPT Students [7]
Top 10 CPT Student Employers Foreign Students Employed on CPT Between 2003-2019
Amazon 9,302
Intel Corporation 6,453
Microsoft Corporation 6,340
Google 6,132
IBM 4,721
Deloitte 3,870
Facebook 3,810
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc 3,371
Ernst & Young 2,929
Goldman Sachs 2,867

Criticism

Many have criticized CPT for incentivizing diploma mill universities. In 2020, Immigration and Customs Enforcement set up the University of Farmington and arrested 250 foreign students after they knowingly enrolled in the college, which lacked teachers or classes. Many of the students enrolled in CPT to immediately gain work authorization in the U.S.[8][9]

References
  1. "Students arrested at ICE's fake university are facing more than deportation". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  2. "Students and Employment", United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
  3. "Practical Training", U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
  4. "Curricular Practical Training – International Students & Global Programs". international.camden.rutgers.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  5. Rosenthal, Rachel. "The STEM Graduate System Is Broken. Here's How to Fix It". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  6. "ICE: CPT Employment Authorizations" (PDF).
  7. "2003 - 2019 Top 200 Employers for CPT Students" (PDF).
  8. "Foreign students used 'jobs' with fake firms to stay in U.S. illegally". NBC News. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  9. Warikoo, Niraj. "ICE arrests 90 more students at fake university in Michigan". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2023-02-13.


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