Work permit adjustments leave international students with fewer development options

By Virginia Ruiz Camauer

News Reporter

SAN MARCOS – This past August, the Student Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) announced plans to tighten the requirements for international students to pursue Curricular Practical Training (CPT). Months later, Texas State international students continue to worry about their options to get real-world professional experience while complying with federal regulations.

International students are F-1 visa holders, meaning they are only authorized to be in the U.S. to pursue an academic degree. CPT is the work authorization that would allow them to pursue internships or practical training during their studies, and Optional Practical Training (OPT) is the equivalent but after graduation.

While the opportunity to get an internship used to be open to all international students, the rule change in August stated that CPT will be authorized only if it is an integral part of the curriculum established by the university.

Now, international students cannot complete an internship unless the university requires all students in that major to do so to graduate.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also published a rule shortening the time an F-1 visa holder can stay in the United States after graduation from 60 to 30 days.

Additionally, they are currently considering fees of up to $100,000 for universities that recommend students for OPT after graduation, though these are still being debated.

“DHS is upskilling OPT to require foreign students to justify their worth to employers,” according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.

“American workers should not have to compete against a program that has been turned into a pipeline for cheap foreign labor.”

Many believe that these tightened regulations on CPT and OPT are part of the federal government’s greater efforts to prevent the job market from favoring international candidates over U.S. citizens.

“In the U.S., the university system is very good, very advanced,” said an international student at Texas State who wished to remain anonymous.

“We [international students] hoped to take advantage of opportunities that were initially part of the reason why we decided to study internationally.”

An alternative for students seeking professional experience is to create personal projects or do work/research within the university.

As Texas State reaches R1 status, students have access to secure research positions and funding, but research and academia might not align with every student’s career goals.

The student said that they feel discouraged by the situation because there is no indication that there will be favorable changes anytime soon and because the general public is not aware of what is going on.

“Although there is a large amount of international students at Texas State, most of what we go through is not really spoken about,” the anonymous international student said.

“Having a visa is a privilege, not a right, but for some reason we are being targeted as part of political discourse. We are not affecting the job market as much as other groups; we study with Americans and seek the same wages as them; the competition is fair. It’s easy to pick on us because no one stands up for us. I wish we could collaborate with student government to have more presence on campus; that would help us have a voice.”

Texas State’s International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) has helped students navigate these changes by providing students with information on what their options are and keeping them updated on any changes.

ISSS politely declined to provide an interview on this topic.