After federal guidance from ICE in August, USF tightened its Curricular Practical Training approvals, and some international students lost internships they had already secured. ORACLE PHOTO/AMARIS BAEZ

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program released guidance in August on Curricular Practical Training, or CPT.

CPT is a form of employment authorization that allows eligible international students with F-1 visas to take part in off-campus internships, cooperative education or alternating work/study programs, according to USF’s Office of International Services.

SEVP issued two messages in August reminding universities that CPT is authorized only when the practical training is a required part of a student’s curriculum.

The guidance also reiterates that the training must be directly related to the student’s major.

The first message, released Aug. 12, said that designated school officials improperly authorizing CPT could result in administrative or legal consequences for them and the school.

The second message, issued Aug. 24, said elective internships are not required for a curriculum and should not qualify for CPT authorization.

In its September Monthly Immigration Update, OIS said USF is taking the messages seriously.

“We have a very strict process already in place,” OIS said in the update. “We have added to that process by requiring academic departments to verify that the employment experience and the credit bearing course will count towards graduation requirements.”

Students must also receive CPT authorization on their I-20 before beginning employment, according to USF.

The Form I-20 is an official document issued by a U.S. school or university approved by the government and it certifies an international student’s eligibility for non-immigrant status, according to Homeland Security.

For some international students, this change meant losing their ability to do internships they had already secured.

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Barbara Bellagente, a second-semester marketing master’s student from Brazil, was offered an internship at BayCare after six interviews over the summer.

She applied for CPT through USF’s iStart portal Aug. 8, and OIS approved the application Aug. 12.

She said that two days later, her academic advisor approved the CPT, and OIS issued her I-20 on Aug. 17.

With all documentation approved, she said she began her internship Aug. 24, the first day of classes.

A week later, Bellagente said, she received an email from OIS saying her CPT had been revoked because the internship was not required for graduation.

“After I finalized my first week, they sent me an email saying, ‘Oh no, it was revoked.’ And I had just one day to kind of understand and figure it out everything, which I thought was really not really nice,” Bellagente said.

She contacted OIS and her advisor because she said the email stated her CPT was revoked due to academic advising.

“But it didn’t help at all if I’m being honest, because again, [the advisor] was saying that [an internship] has to be required in order for you to do CPT,” Bellagente said. “So it was kind of a vague response.”

Bellagente said she had to stop her internship and is still contacting Career Services to understand what happened.

“I feel like I was really [upset] about it because they were saying that ‘Oh we’ve been informing students about it,’” Bellagente said. “But there are so many people that I talk to, especially international students, that still don’t know about it.”

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Students whose programs require an internship for graduation can still receive CPT.

An international student majoring in accounting and analytics with a minor in finance received CPT approval after applying Aug. 20.

The student asked not to be named because of privacy concerns.

USF’s minor in finance program requires an elective credit, which can be fulfilled by an internship in real estate or finance, according to USF’s undergraduate catalog.

Although the student received CPT, they said they expected the application process to be simple, but USF rejected their offer letter three times because it did not include all the required information.

“When I was applying for a job, I thought that getting a job was once and done,” the student said. “But when I got into the process, I found out that not only do I need the job offer letter, but it also has to follow a specific format that USF provided that has a lot of details on it.”

The student said they had to repeatedly contact the company to revise the offer letter until it met USF guidelines.

The student then waited for their academic advisor to approve the internship and had to contact the advisor multiple times, they said.

“I still need to get the approval from my academic advisor saying that this internship will have to be necessary for me to complete my degree at USF,” the student said. “So I sent probably like 50 emails last week.”

The student eventually received CPT approval but said the process took longer than expected.

“I think it’s just a very long and annoying [process], and it takes a lot of time, and I feel like if I was an American citizen, I wouldn’t have gone through all this,” they said.

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Marilia Curcioli, a junior environmental engineering major, said she faced setbacks with her internship.

Curcioli interned at a company over the summer and was offered the chance to continue in the fall.

She first applied for CPT through iStart in the second week of August, but her application was denied, she said.

After the third denial, she said that an OIS advisor told her to ask her major advisor whether the internship was absolutely necessary for her degree.

“My advisor, from the civil environmental engineering department, told me that no, it wouldn’t count, and that they’re denying all the CPT applications starting Aug. 12,” Curcioli said.

Curcioli said the rejection emails did not cite the ICE guidance. Instead, they said her offer letter was not identified as an internship offer letter.

“Why was it denied? It doesn’t really say because of a rule that changed or because you’re not eligible,” Curcioli said. “But then when I went to talk to my advisor, that was when I found out that even if the offer letter was perfect, it would still get denied.”

Curcioli said she was frustrated that she could not intern this fall after a strong summer experience.

“When those news arrived, basically all my expectations for this semester completely changed,” Curcioli said. “Of course, I’m getting around it, but it was a big change for my fall 2026.”