If you're working on OPT right now, or your child is about to apply for CPT, you've probably seen claims like this lately: AI will fill the gaps in tech jobs, the US no longer needs to bring in skilled white-collar workers, and OPT and CPT could be canceled at any moment.
One point in these claims is correct, and it's the most important one: OPT and CPT were not created by statute; they were created by regulation. That's worth taking seriously, but the conclusion people draw from it doesn't follow so quickly.
01 Which layer of law they rest on
US immigration rules have two layers. Laws passed by Congress are one layer; regulations written by executive agencies are the other. Changing a law takes Congress. Changing a regulation doesn't.
F-1 student status itself comes from statute. But practical training was created by regulation: Optional Practical Training (OPT) is at 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii), and Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is under the same paragraph (f)(10).
So the first half of that claim holds: canceling them doesn't require Congress to pass a new law. The premise behind your worry is real.
02 But "no Congress needed" doesn't mean "overnight"
To change a regulation, an agency has to go through a fixed process, one we've seen play out again and again with other rules:
First it publishes a proposed rule with the text and the reasoning. Then it takes public comments, usually for 30 to 60 days. After the comments are in, the agency has to respond to them point by point before publishing a final rule, and the final rule must state an effective date.
Going through this process takes a year at the fastest, with no upper limit at the slow end, and some rules are withdrawn partway. Here's an example we tracked: the proposal to end work permits for H-4 spouses went onto the Unified Agenda in January 2018, stayed there through eight consecutive editions and was withdrawn in August 2021, without a single proposed rule ever being published.
So what separates "can be canceled" from "about to be canceled" is this whole process, not a single sheet of paper. Your current OPT period will most likely run its course faster than a new rule could get through it.
03 It has been challenged in court, and OPT is still here
One lawsuit specifically challenged the legality of OPT: Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. Department of Homeland Security. It was filed in 2014 in federal district court in the District of Columbia and went all the way up to the federal court of appeals, which issued a formal opinion in October 2022 and a follow-up ruling in February 2023.
We don't have a paid case-law database account and can't read the full decisions, so we won't paraphrase what the judges said. But one thing can be confirmed without reading the decisions: this lawsuit went on for nearly ten years, and OPT is still in effect today.
04 Only one rule is actually moving right now
This is the part most worth knowing. We checked two places:
The Federal Register: over the past year, 7 published rules mention "practical training." We read each one, and none of them restricts or eliminates OPT or CPT. The matches were the H-1B fee rule, the public charge rule and the F/J/I fixed period of admission rule.
The White House regulatory review office (OIRA): one OPT-related rule is in the queue, RIN 1653-AB01, titled "Optional Practical Training Fees." It was sent for review on August 20, 2026, and its current status is Pending Review.
The title tells you it's a fee rule, not a termination rule. The text hasn't been released, so no one knows yet how much the fee will be or when it will take effect. If it's published, what you'll need to prepare for is a payment, not a break in your status.
Update (October 8): The text of this fee rule is now public. It proposes $70,000 for a student's first OPT and $30,000 for each later OPT, paid by the school. It is still a proposed rule. See OPT Fee Proposal: Schools Would Pay $70,000 per F-1 Student. Nothing Changes Yet.
That said, two things should be kept apart: no movement at the regulatory level doesn't mean nothing can go wrong at the operational level. In August this year, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) sent two notices in a row to schools nationwide tightening CPT review, and many schools immediately paused approvals. The regulations didn't change; enforcement got stricter. But for the individuals affected, it hurts just the same. For the full story on that round, see School Suddenly Stopped CPT? Does the Authorization You Already Have Still Count?.
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05 So what should you watch?
If you want to judge for yourself instead of going by the tone of other people's posts, two places are enough:
Whether a proposed rule appears in the Federal Register with practical training in the title and content that restricts or eliminates it. Until that happens, no claim that "it's about to be canceled" can point to any text.
Whether a new entry appears in the Unified Agenda. The agenda is the earliest link in the chain. An entry shows the agency intends to act, but it's still a long way from taking effect. To judge how far off it is, look at which stage the entry is listed under: an entry under "Long-Term Actions," by the agenda's own definition, is one where the agency doesn't expect to act within the next 12 months.
To judge where an immigration rule stands, asking "What's the number?" is usually enough. A proposed rule has a RIN, a Federal Register document has a document number, and a White House review has a docket record. If none of the three can be produced, the matter is still just talk.
Sources
- Regulatory text for OPT: 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii); the citation comes from the amendment to that section in "Extending Period of Optional Practical Training by 17 Months" (73 FR 18944, April 8, 2008)
- CPT and OPT both fall under 214.2(f)(10); the text of the F/J/I fixed period of admission rule (July 17, 2026) cites both as currently valid forms of employment authorization
- Over the past year, 7 rules in the Federal Register mention practical training, and none restricts or eliminates OPT or CPT (searched September 9, 2026)
- OIRA review record for RIN 1653-AB01, "Optional Practical Training Fees," received August 20, 2026, status Pending Review
- Lawsuit: Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, filed in 2014 in the US District Court for the District of Columbia; D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion of October 4, 2022, and ruling of February 1, 2023
This article does not constitute legal advice. For the specific timing of your OPT or CPT, please consult your school's international student office or a qualified immigration lawyer.