Is a JD summer internship need a "degree requirement" for CPT, given the new SEVP warning
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Hey all,
I'm an international student planning to start a JD in the US and trying to actually understand how the CPT situation works before I commit to a school, especially after seeing that SEVP broadcast message from Aug 12 warning DSOs about CPT being "improperly authorized."
Context for anyone who doesn't know JD structure:
the standard path is you intern somewhere after 1L and 2L summers, and that internship very often converts into a full-time offer after graduation . So CPT during those summers is kind of a big deal for international students trying to build that same pipeline.
My question is: does the internship actually need to be a mandatory degree requirement (like, you literally cannot graduate without doing it) for a DSO to authorize CPT? Or is it enough that the school offers a for-credit externship/internship course that the student enrolls in, even if it's not compulsory for every student in the program?
From what I've read, it sounds like there are technically two routes — either it's required for all degree candidates per the course catalog, OR it's tied to a specific credit-bearing course. But with SEVP cracking down and threatening loss of SEVP certification for schools that authorize CPT too loosely, I'm wondering:
Are law schools' externship/practicum courses considered solid enough grounds for CPT post-BCM 2608-01, or are DSOs getting more conservative and only authorizing CPT when it's a true blanket degree requirement?
Has anyone going through a JD right now (or recently) noticed their school's DSO changing how they're handling 1L/2L summer internship authorizations because of this?
Should I specifically be asking admissions/ISS offices whether their JD has a formal externship course tied to summer internships, or is that overthinking it?
Would really appreciate hearing from current JD students, immigration attorneys, or DSOs if anyone's lurking. Trying to figure out if this is a real practical obstacle or just internet panic before I lock in a school.