ISSS-BU News . 10 April 2006. ISSS-BU News
An electronic news service for international students and scholars, owned by the Office of International Student and Scholar Services at Binghamton University, State University of New York
Visit ISSS on the Web! http://isss.binghamton.edu
Editor's Note: Many University offices, including the Office of International Student and Scholar Services, will be closed on Friday, April 14, 2006. Please be sure to take care of any necessary transactions with the ISSS by the close of business at 4:00pm on Thursday, April 13. Otherwise, we will look forward to seeing you on Monday, April 17.
CONTENTS:
1. Be Sure to Pick Up Your Health Insurance ID Card Before the Spring Break
The Spring 2006 ID cards for the International Student Health Insurance Plan have now arrived in the Office of International Student and Scholar Services. All international students, except for those graduate students with TA, GA or RPA funding, are covered under this health insurance policy.
If you will be traveling during the upcoming Spring break or once the semester ends, it is especially important to have your insurance ID with you.
Your Spring health insurance covers you until August 14, 2006, the Fall health insurance coverage begins August 15, 2006
Please come to the ISSS to pick up your Insurance ID card during their normal business hours;
Monday - Wednesday and Friday from 8:30am to 4:00pm
Thursday from 11:30am to 4:00pm.
You will be asked to present your BU ID card when you come to the ISSS.
If you are a GSEU-funded F-1 student or Research Foundation funded F-1 student on employee-benefit insurance, contact the appropriate benefits office for information on obtaining your health insurance card.
2. World-renowned Chinese Artist Xu Bing to Offer Lecture Monday April 10
World-renowned artist Xu Bing will offer a free lecture entitled "Between Vision and Language" on April 10 at 6:30pm in Lecture Hall 10. The artist will speak about the major themes that connect his works and about some of his most recent projects.
Xu Bing is a conceptual and installation artist from China who currently lives and works in New York City. His works have been shown worldwide. His playful and probing installations earned him the MacArthur "Genius" Award in 1999. In 2004 he won the inaugural Wales International Art Prize, Artes Mundi, for a work that incorporated dust from the New York World Trade Center site.
This lecture is a related event to "Trans-boundary Experiences: an Exhibition of Contemporary Art from China, Japan, and Korea", which will run at Spool Mfg on Baldwin Street in Johnson City from 8 April to 23 April 2006.
For additional information on the artist, please visit www.xubing.com . For additional information on the exhibition, please visit www.spoolmfg.org or phone Spool Mfg at 607-644-1086.
3. Where to Eat On Campus During Spring Break
With classes ending at 1:00pm on Wednesday, April 12 and not resuming until Tuesday, April 18, many students remaining either in the residence halls or off campus may wonder what is open on campus for eating during the break. For weekday breakfast and lunch, the answer is the Susquehanna Room, located on the second floor of the Old University Union, above the mail room.
The Susquehanna Room is open daily except weekends from 7:30am to 2:30pm, even when classes are not in session. On Friday, April 14 only, it will close at 1:30pm. So be sure to visit the Susquehanna Room if you are looking for an on campus location to eat during break!
4. The Deadline for Filing Federal and State Income Tax Forms is Monday, April 17!
Do you need to know how to properly assemble and mail your federal and New York State income tax forms? Go to: http://isss.binghamton.edu/taxes/taxaddress.html
Are you using CINTAX ? More than 600 BU students have requested CINTAX passwords, but only 405 have gone onto the CINTAX website as of Sunday, April 9. Of those 405 students with passwords, 355 have completed their income tax forms.
CINTAX is reporting that the average federal refund for BU CINTAX users, for those students entitled to a refund, is $543.00.
We want to remind CINTAX users that CINTAX's partner, SAS, is offering to complete state tax returns at the cost of $14.95 per return, but this offer ends on April 12, 2006. After April 12, the SAS price goes up to $29.95 per return. You must first complete your federal tax information on CINTAX before CINTAX can forward your records to SAS for the state tax forms.
For the most up-to-date information on services available to help you with your income tax forms, visit: http://isss.binghamton.edu/taxes/taxseminars.html
Visit the self-help tax website of the University of Texas at Austin International Office for step-by-step instructions and examples of the required forms: http://www.utexas.edu/international/taxes
5. Academic Success Workshop Series for Undergraduates Presents: Preparing for Final Exams: Get An Early Start on April 19, 2006
A very important workshop for international undergraduates, titled “ Preparing for Final Exams: Get An Early Start ! ” will be held on Wednesday, April 19, 2006 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm in College in the Woods' Mohawk Hall TV Room.
If you have questions about:
• Time Management
• Finding a Study Group
• Organizing your class notes
• Getting the help you need if you are having difficulty
• Getting the help you need if you are having difficulty
• Taking the exam - Strategies to use with multiple choice questions and organizing essay questions
Learn:
• How to get help from your professors
• How successful international students prepare for final exams
• About Academic Support and Tutoring programs on campus
Ask your questions and share your concerns with staff from the ISSS, Discovery Center, and a Round Table of International Students.
Refreshments will be served!
To pre-register:
Send an e-mail to isss@binghamton.edu
Use "Academic Success Workshop" as the subject
Include your name, field of study (if known) and your e-mail address. Please pre-register by Tuesday, April 18, 2006.
This workshop series is sponsored by: International Student and Scholar Services, the Dual Diploma Program, the Discovery Center and the Writing Center. Division of Student Affairs and Division of Academic Affairs
6. Sign Up! Volunteers Needed for Fall 2006 International Student Orientation
The Office of International Student and Scholar Services seeks volunteers to help with Fall 2006 International Student Orientation!
This year, Fall 2006 International Student Orientation will begin on Monday, August 21 and continue through Wednesday, August 23, 2006. Leadership Volunteers work with ISSS staff to assist newly arrived international students, during all three days of orientation.
During orientation Leadership Volunteers work with the staff of the ISSS to welcome new students, assist them is their initial adjustment to life in the United States, provide strategies for their academic success and ensure their access to critical information.
Prior to orientation, a 5-day training program (starting on August 14) is scheduled for all Leadership Volunteers so that you will know exactly what you need to do as part of the team working on the Fall 2006 International Student Orientation. Training and volunteering involves some work, but it is also a lot of fun. You'll be working side-by-side with ISSS staff assisting what we expect to be the largest class ever of new international students!
If you are interested in being a Leadership Volunteer for Fall 2006 International Student Orientation, please send an e-mail message to isss@binghamton.edu with the subject heading, "International Student Orientation - Leadership Volunteer". The ISSS will send you an e-mail containing information about being a Leadership Volunteer. We look forward to hearing from you!
7. Do You Need to Extend Your I-20 or DS-2019?
Students whose I-20 or DS-2019 will expire in May, but who will continue at Binghamton for Summer 2006 and/or Fall 2006 are reminded that they must complete the required paperwork for an extension before their I-20 or DS-2019 expires! A student whose I-20 ends in May, but who continues to take classes during the 2006 summer session will be out of status, with very serious immigration ramifications unless they apply for an extension of stay in a timely manner. All students with I-20s or DS-2019s with ending dates of May or Summer 2006 were sent e-mail messages in March regarding extension procedures. Do not let the deadline pass!
8. U.S. Government Warns of Bogus H-1B Press Release
On April 3, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a warning that a bogus press release had been issued, claiming to be from USCIS, announcing that enough H-1B petitions had been received for the cap to be reached for fiscal year 2007, which does not begin until October 1, 2006. This release is not accurate and was not issued by USCIS.
To read the USCIS public notice, visit:
http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/statements/SpoofH1BRel03Apr06PN.pdf
9. Income Tax Information: How to Apply for an Extension If You Need More Time to File Your Income Tax Forms
All individuals in F or J status, including F and J dependents, who were in the United States during any part of 2005 must file federal income tax forms, even if they did not have any U.S. earned income!
The deadline for filing income tax forms is Monday, April 17, 2006. What happens if you have income and are unable to file your federal and state income tax forms by the April 17 deadline? You can file for up to a six-month extension of your federal income tax form by completing form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File a Tax Return. You can obtain a similar extension from New York State by filing form IT-370. Supplies of federal form 4868 and New York State form IT-370 are available in the ISSS, or may be downloaded from the federal or state income tax web pages. Go to http://isss.binghamton.edu/taxes/taxlinks.html and click on the appropriate federal or state link.
For instructions on how to complete the forms, go to:
http://isss.binghamton.edu/taxes/taxextension.html
Forms 4868 and IT-370 should be used if you are unable to meet the April 17, 2006 filing deadline for federal and New York State tax returns. Forms 4868 and IT-370 provide an automatic six-month extension. However, forms 4868 and IT-370 do not allow for an extension of any taxes owed. If you owe tax to the U.S. government or the State of New York, you must enclose payment (or an estimated payment) with forms 4868 and IT-370. Do not attempt to file the 4868 or the IT-370 electronically. File them as paper forms.
Please see Kim or Elaine in the ISSS for federal form 4868 and IT-370. Both forms include instructions.
Students sometime ask whether there are any consequences to not filing tax forms. There can be immigration consequences for failing to file tax forms. For example, applicants wanting to change from F-1 to H-1B (the specialty occupations visa) can be asked by the Immigration Service to submit copies of previous years' income tax forms as part of their H-1B application. Applicants for permanent residency ("green cards") can be asked to show copies of tax forms filed for previous years. A person who appears at a U.S. consulate abroad for consular processing of a permanent residency visa application may be asked to produce U.S. income tax forms from their previous years in the United States.ISSS-BU is a listserv owned and managed by the Office of International Student and Scholar Services, Division of Student Affairs, at the State University of New York at Binghamton. It is the publisher of ISSS-BU News . Permission is granted to freely distribute the information posted to this list as long as its contents remain unchanged.
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