UC Berkeley pauses course-credit work authorizations for international students after ICE memos
UC Berkeley's international office indefinitely suspended Course Credit CPT applications — the authorization that lets F-1 students work for degree credit — after ICE sent two compliance memos in under two weeks, the second on Monday. Degree-requirement CPT still processes normally, so the pause is narrow, but SEVP has begun auditing schools with loss of certification to enroll international students as the penalty. For the Bay Area talent pipeline, that risk now sits upstream of hiring: universities are cutting off the credit-for-work channel preemptively rather than testing the federal line.
Source: dailycal.org ↗
It is unlikely that we will be processing such applications in the near future, so please plan accordingly.
UC Berkeley International Office
Why this matters
- → Disrupts F-1 visa holders' access to credit-bearing work experience just as employers hire
- → SEVP audits now threaten schools' ability to enroll international students entirely
- → Bay Area tech talent pipeline loses upstream recruitment channel universities control
Federal line moves upstream