diff --git a/.circleci/run_xpu_tests.py b/.circleci/run_xpu_tests.py
index c457e90544..dfdf42b1da 100644
--- a/.circleci/run_xpu_tests.py
+++ b/.circleci/run_xpu_tests.py
@@ -16,9 +16,11 @@
 # ==============================================================================
 
 # coding: utf-8
-import argparse
 import os
 
+os.environ["SCIPY_ARRAY_API"] = "1"
+import argparse
+
 import pytest
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
@@ -83,8 +85,6 @@
     if args.json_report_file is not None:
         pytest_params += ["--json-report", f"--json-report-file={args.json_report_file}"]
 
-    os.environ["SCIPY_ARRAY_API"] = "1"
-
     if not args.no_intel_optimized:
         from sklearnex import patch_sklearn