Trump Administration Targets F-1 Students, Creating Turmoil for Them, US Universities, and US Employers – American Immigration Council

Published:
November 12, 2026

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The Trump administration is targeting international students in F-1 status through a series of policies and regulations (proposed and final) that restrict their ability to live, study, and gain practical experience in the United States. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), approximately 1.6 million international students and their dependents are in the United States in F status. A survey found that enrollment by international students would decline if the government imposed a fixed admission period—one of the regulatory changes this administration issued. A decrease in international students means less revenue for U.S. colleges and universities as they usually pay a higher tuition amount. If schools have less revenue, then this harms U.S. citizen students. A decrease also threatens the entire country. One economic analysis found that even with a conservative estimate of only a 10% reduction in F-1 student enrollment, the negative effects on the US economy would range from $72 to $145 billion within a 10-year period.

The first major attack on international students under the Trump administration came in early 2025. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) instigated student visa revocations by sharing with the Department of State (DOS) “hits” of approximately 6,400 F-1 students in the National Criminal Information Center database who had interactions with law enforcement. After DOS reported to ICE that an F-1 visa was revoked, ICE terminated the students’ records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).  ICE also terminated some SEVIS records for other reasons. Of the approximately 5,000 F-1 students whose SEVIS records ICE terminated, more than 3,000 had their F-1 visas revoked first.

Without an active SEVIS record, those students experienced disruptions such as being unable to register for classes or continue previously authorized work. Students were notified by their schools after Designated School Officials (DSOs), the administrators authorized by the government to oversee F-1 students, discovered the terminations in SEVIS. Immigration attorneys filed at least 65 lawsuits challenging the SEVIS terminations.  Many students established that they had not engaged in activity for which SEVIS termination would be a consequence of a visa revocation. By coordinating their efforts, attorneys challenged inconsistencies and inaccuracies in declarations submitted by ICE officials. For example, ICE officials claimed that SEVIS termination was not a termination of F-1 status. Yet courts took notice that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and DOS had equated a SEVIS termination for failure to maintain status with the status termination.

Many of the lawsuits resulted in courts ordering ICE to reverse the SEVIS terminations and reinstate the F-1 students’ SEVIS records retroactively. In some cases, ICE reinstated the SEVIS records retroactively before receiving a court order. ICE also said that affected F-1 students would receive letters confirming the retroactive reinstatement. However, ICE also admitted that the system did not display to users such as DSOs that the reinstatements were retroactive. Attorneys have reported to the American Immigration Lawyers Association that F-1 students applying to USCIS for immigration benefits, such as work authorization for post-graduate practical training or a change to a different temporary status are receiving inquiries from the agency questioning whether they maintained their F-1 status. Individuals whose F-1 visas were revoked face challenges, including consular officer denials of applications for new visas (in the F-1 or other categories), and judicial review generally is not an option for a visa denial.

Through a final rule, the administration sought to impose a maximum four-year period of stay in F-1 status effective September 15, 2026. For nearly 50 years, F-1 students received “duration of status,” meaning the length of time needed to complete their degree program and any approved post-graduate training

For now, duration of status remains in effect due to a federal district court order postponing the effective date while a lawsuit challenging the rule proceeds. If the new rule had taken effect, F-1 status would have been limited to a student’s program end date or the expiration date of their work authorization card (EAD), whichever was later, but no longer than four years. This would be a problem for F-1 students in advanced degree programs that require more than four years to complete. And many bachelor’s degree candidates do not finish their programs within four years. To stay longer, students would have to file, for a minimum $420 fee, for an extension of stay with USCIS, although there were certain transition exceptions. A USCIS officer, with no expertise in academia, would be deciding whether an F-1 student could stay and complete their degree. Post-graduate training could be severely restricted, if not eliminated, because students would have to wait for USCIS to process their extensions first (after the transition exceptions ended) and the post-graduate training is time limited.

The government appealed the court’s ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. However, the district court is proceeding on the merits and likely will issue a decision before the First Circuit resolves the appeal of the temporary postponement

The administration also is attacking Optional Practical Training (OPT) through new required payments. OPT allows some F-1s to secure temporary employment directly related to the student’s major area of study. A proposed rule would require U.S. colleges and universities to pay $70,000 before recommending an F-1 student for initial OPT and $30,000 for any additional OPT (such as the up to 24-month extension for students in certain STEM fields). While the government labels these amounts as “fees,” a final rule likely will be challenged as unlawful taxes that DHS lacks authority to assess. The agency claims the purpose of the proposed rule is to combat “fraud and abuse” in the OPT program but gives only a few examples of bad actors among employers, not the schools. The agency does not adequately consider other alternatives or give serious consideration to the burden on schools to fund the costs or administer such payments. Comments were due by November 9, 2026.

The administration also has attacked Curricular Practical Training (CPT). CPT involves learning through practical experience such as an internship. For 2024, (the most recent data available), ICE reported that 130,566 foreign students obtained work authorization for CPT. For decades, immigration authorities interpreted a regulation that permits F-1 students to engage in CPT as meaning the training either is taken for academic credit toward the F-1’s degree or, if no credit, is mandatory to complete the F-1’s degree. However, in August 2026, ICE issued two “broadcast messages,” to DSOs who are responsible for approving CPT for F-1s, which purport to severely restrict the ability of students to utilize CPT. In the first message, which ICE claimed was a reminder to schools and DSOs, ICE interpreted the CPT as authorized only if it would be “impossible” for an F-1 student to complete their degree without it and “the work associated with CPT is required for all students pursuing that degree.” The reminder seemed like a threat as ICE said authorization inconsistent with this interpretation “may subject” a school to withdrawal of its certification to enroll F-1 students and a DSO to criminal penalties for providing false information as to the training. In the second message, ICE provided “Questions and Answers” which corresponded to its new interpretation.

The Association of American Universities and three other organizations with members affected by ICE’s action, filed a lawsuit in the federal district court in Massachusetts. They also filed a motion to stop ICE from implementing or enforcing the new interpretation while the lawsuit proceeds. One of many harms asserted is the loss of unique educational experiences that F-1s in the final year of their degree program will suffer as schools cancel CPT out of fear of losing their certification. The court heard the motion on November 6.

The Trump administration has failed to consider the importance of F-1 students to American colleges and universities, employers, and the economy. In addition to their tuition, F-1 students provide U.S.-born students with different perspectives while they acquire first-hand knowledge of what the United States has to offer. Post-graduate training, particularly in STEM fields, is an important path for F-1 students to remain in the U.S. workforce, usually through a change of status to an H-1B specialty occupation status. The Trump administration wrongly considers students and workers to be fungible. Real-world experience shows that in many industries, foreign students educated in the United States enable U.S. employers to grow their businesses and hire more U.S. workers. Foreign students educated in the United States also start businesses which provide more opportunities for U.S. workers. By creating uncertainty and making F-1 students unwelcome, the administration is harming the American public it claims to be protecting.

Source: www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org