Judge Julia Kobick heard arguments on Friday in a challenge to the DHS proposed H-1B extension rule guidance that tightened international student internship eligibility. The case centers on whether the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s August memo should be blocked while the lawsuit continues.
Massachusetts hearing Friday
The lawsuit in Association of American Universities v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security was brought by four higher education groups. They asked the court to block the guidance while the case moves forward, and asked that any order apply to all of their member schools, including Stanford.
The plaintiffs said the August memo reversed a federal position that had stood for more than 35 years. They also said it effectively ended Curricular Practical Training, or CPT, for elective, for-credit internships.
Stanford pauses CPT applications
Stanford paused all CPT applications that are not required for degree completion on Sept. 1, effective immediately and until further notice. The pause is posted on the Bechtel International Center website, and several peer institutions, including UC Berkeley, UCLA and the University of Pennsylvania, have paused or narrowed CPT approvals.
Stanford students were already discussing the shift a day before the hearing. The Associated Students of Stanford University hosted an international student roundtable on Thursday on eligibility for internships in the U.S., with Laila Ali saying, “We’re particularly interested in understanding how changes to CPT policies have affected students across different majors and career paths. We want to hear what’s worked, what hasn’t and whether there are solutions already being implemented in certain departments or at other universities that Stanford could learn from.”
Earth Systems exception question
The ASSU panel said the only potential exception at Stanford under the administration’s strict interpretation of CPT is the Earth Systems Program. Earth Systems majors on the panel said Bechtel was not able to confirm whether that program’s requirement qualifies as an exemption, leaving that path unresolved even as the broader pause remains in place.
Angikar Ghosal, a third-year Ph.D. student at the Graduate School of Business and executive ASSU member, said students who are not STEM majors do not qualify for the two-year extension on their one-year OPT. He said, “If you’re not a STEM major, say, [an] international relations [major], you don’t qualify for the two-year extension on your one-year OPT, so using pre-OPT effectively uses up most of your OPT.”
Judge Julia Kobick took the matter under advisement without issuing a ruling. For Stanford international students seeking off-campus internships, the immediate practical question is whether the court will temporarily stop the guidance before schools have to keep applying it.
Stanford and Bechtel
Stanford and the Bechtel International Center are working with VPUE and ASSU on potential responses to the latest guidance. Until Kobick rules, students who need elective internships are left with a narrow set of options: a possible Earth Systems path, pre-Optional Practical Training, or waiting to see whether the court grants the injunction sought by the plaintiffs.
