Rulebook · USC
Every rule Litmus checks against
These are the clauses behind your results, taken from Office of International Services (OIS). Each one shows the school's own wording and when we last read it on the source.
13rules on file, covering Curricular Practical Training (CPT)Last reviewed Sep 3, 2026
Timing · 3
Hours · 2
Location · 2
Documentation · 3
Eligibility · 3
What Litmus does not know
Litmus only checks the rules listed for this school and nothing else. A quiet result means no conflict was found in what is on file, not that nothing is wrong. The gap list covers both rules we have not recorded and rules we have recorded but cannot check from a document. Silence is not approval.
- ·Whether practical training is a degree requirement for your program: the rule is on file and it decides CPT eligibility outright, but only your department and OIS can confirm it for your curriculum
- ·Fixed periods of admission replacing duration of status from September 15, 2026
- ·Optional Practical Training (OPT) and the 24-month STEM extension
- ·On-campus employment limits
- ·Unpaid internships and volunteer work
- ·J-1 academic training
How this ruleset has changed
Sep 3, 2026Added the August 24 degree-requirement rule after SEVP Broadcast Message 2608-02. This is now the first thing that decides a CPT request, and Litmus cannot check it automatically.
Aug 28, 2026Re-confirmed all CPT timing, hours and documentation clauses against the OIS employment pages. No wording changes.
Jun 4, 2026Added the final-semester full-time provision as its own rule; it was previously folded into the hours limit.
Feb 11, 2026Remote-work guidance recorded from the OIS work-location page. Flagged for recheck.
Jan 15, 2026Initial USC ruleset built from the 2026 OIS CPT documentation.
Rules are recorded from the school's published documents, quoted as written, and rechecked against the source. If a clause here disagrees with what your school tells you, your school is right, and we want to know.