Harvard Law School Floats Expanding On-Campus Summer Opportunities Following CPT Guidance Restrictions

Harvard Law School is considering expanding on-campus summer opportunities for international J.D. students after new federal guidance effectively restricted the school’s ability to authorize off-campus internships during first-year summers, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The proposal — discussed at a Harvard International Office information session in early September and a Coalition of International Students and Global Affairs meeting — would give international students additional options as they navigate changes to federal policy governing Curricular Practical Training, a form of temporary work authorization for off-campus employment related to a student’s academic program.

The federal government’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program issued two broadcast messages in August specifying that, for an employment experience to qualify as “integral” to a curriculum under CPT guidelines, it must be required of all students in the degree program to graduate.

“It’s technically not binding, but it’s a statement of policy or an interpretation, but it didn’t go through the regulation process that would make it binding,” UCLA immigration law professor Hiroshi Motomura said. “There’s a degree of uncertainty, or there’s a lack of uniformity here as a consequence of all this.”

In response to the changes in federal guidance, the Law School has also stopped authorizing international students’ participation via CPT in one of the school’s 13 externship clinics.

Summer internships in public interest organizations, government offices, and private law firms are not required for graduation from HLS, meaning the work no longer appears to qualify for CPT authorization under the new federal interpretation.

The two people familiar with the discussions said students and administrators have considered expanding opportunities for international students to work on campus instead. Work positions would not be administrative and could include working at HLS’s in-house clinics or research assistantships.

According to one person, CISGA board members said at the meeting they were actively in conversations with administrators from the HIO as well as HLS’s Office of Career Services and Office of Public Interest Advising.

HLS spokesperson Lacey J. Rose wrote in a statement that the school is “deeply committed to supporting our international students,” adding they’re an “essential part of the HLS community.”

“Harvard Law School is working closely with individual students to help them navigate the challenges created by the new federal guidance on Curricular Practical Training and to explore options for summer employment and professional development,” Rose wrote. “The school is also working to identify opportunities for affected students, consistent with applicable immigration requirements.”

Rose declined to comment on what the campus work opportunities would entail, instead pointing students to meet with HLS advisors to discuss their individual situations.

The discussions come as the Law School has also changed the guidance it provides to international J.D. students about summer employment.

OCS removed a section from its webpage in October that previously stated international J.D. students could use CPT for summer internships in conjunction with enrolling in a one-credit writing course related to the summer experience.

The webpage now notes that HLS students may use pre-completion Optional Practical Training for summer work, adding “it is important to understand the deadlines and plan properly for its allocation.”

OPT provides international students with up to 12 months of authorization to work in positions related to their field of study and is commonly used after graduation.

But using OPT before graduation reduces the amount of authorization available afterward. HLS administrators have advised some affected first-year students to pursue internships abroad where possible and preserve OPT eligibility for their second-year summer, according to the two people.

HLS administrators also told affected students that limiting a second-year summer internship to eight weeks of OPT would leave students with more time to work in the United States after graduation before needing to obtain another form of employment authorization, according to the people.

One person said some international students have been advised to negotiate shorter programs with big law firms, whose summer associate programs typically last about 10 weeks.

Four higher education groups — all of which Harvard has ties to — filed a lawsuit in federal district court on Monday against the Department of Homeland Security, arguing that the government had engaged in “procedurally invalid” rulemaking in its August directives restricting international students’ ability to participate in internships. The case was assigned Tuesday to U.S. District Judge Julia E. Kobick ’05.

—Staff writer Uy B. Pham can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ubp.88. Follow him on X @uybpham.