It is legal and so far it has been safe. You know that the rule for Day 1 CPT requires that when you join, you are associating with a graduate program otherwise you cannot get a Day 1 CPT. The Curricular Practical Training is an integral part of your degree. You cannot finish the degree without the practical training. The other thing is the employer signs the cooperative agreement with the university. The only additional suggestion I have is if you are going to do Curricular Practical Training make it as an adjunct to your profession.
For more information please check my blog.
https://immigration.com/blogs/curricular-practical-training-cpt
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
Comments: Rajiv Khanna is an extremely competent attorney and I am extremely pleased by the service provided by his staff. I specially commend Diane Lombardo for getting things done quickly, efficiently and correctly. I would recommend this firm for anyone wishing to hire a lwayer for their GC process. Country of Birth of primary applicant: India Country of Birth of beneficiary: Colombia I-140 NIW Application received by INS on Jan, 13 1998. I-140 Additional evidence requested on April 23, 1998. I-140 Approval received on Jun 13, 1998. I-485 Received by INS on Aug 5, 1998. I-485 RFE sent out by INS on Nov 12, 1999. RFE was for employment letter, original geographical area of NIW approval and birth certificate. I-485 Response sent on December 7, 1999. I-485 Approved on December 23, 1999. Passport stamped on January 3, 2000 using courtesy copy (not original copy). Further, for those who are wondering how I was able to submit my I485 application in August 1998 when my priority date is Jan 13 1998, I qualify since I cross-charged my application under my spouse's country of birth.