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In the United States, Curricular Practical Training (CPT) provides temporary employment authorization for F-1 visa non-immigrant foreign students while enrolled in a college-level degree program.^[1] Students can receive employment authorization right after enrollment if the college deems the work "integral" to the student's study, such as a major course requirement or internship program.^[2]^[3]^[4] CPT allows students to work in both paid and unpaid jobs.^[5]

CPT permission is granted through the institution's International Students Office or equivalent upon approval of the student’s designated school official (DSO), pursuant to regulations established by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.^[6]^[7] The student must have secured the CPT opportunity prior to authorization.^[4] The student then receives an updated I-20 form once CPT is approved.^[8] There is no fee for CPT work authorization.^[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.^[7] During the summer, students are able to work full-time on CPT if enrolled in a summer session course.^[9]

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.^[10] In 2021, there were 91,352 employed CPT workers, a 47% increase from a decade prior.^[11] In 2022, there were 129,849 CPT employment authorizations.^[12]

CPT Employment Authorization Statistics

2007-2021 CPT Employment Authorizations of Foreign Students^[11]^[13]
Year	Number of Foreign Students on CPT
2007	57,403
2008	61,171
2009	48,568
2010	57,409
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
2021	91,352
2022	129,849

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.^[14]

2003-2019 Total CPT Authorizations by Employer ^[14]
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

2019 CPT Authorizations by Employer^[15]
Top 10 CPT Student Employers	Foreign Students Employed on CPT in 2019
Amazon	2,086
Google	1,158
Facebook	1,090
Microsoft Corporation	730
Deloitte	672
Intel Corporation	530
Cummins	346
IBM	340
Populus Group	333
Apple	323

Criticism

Employer Discount

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.^[5] For employers, hiring a CPT worker amounts to a 15.3% discount per student compared to an American citizen or permanent resident.^[16] Employers also avoid paying payroll taxes and do not have to provide health insurance to CPT students.^[17]^[18]

Lack of Government Oversight

Government officials have criticized the program because neither USCIS nor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have a direct role in determining whether the CPT work authorization is an “integral part of a curriculum."^[19]

Lack in Transparency

Detractors of the CPT program has criticized it for being non-transparent.^[20]

Career Placement

Critics have said the program provides entry-level career opportunities to foreign students while not doing the same for American college students.^[21]

Diploma Mill Colleges

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 for knowingly enrolling in the papermill college, which lacked teachers or classes. Many of the students enrolled in CPT to immediately gain work authorization in the U.S.^[22]^[23]