1. National Holidays for April
2. International Students Receive Graduate School Awards for Excellence
3. Income Tax Information: Web Seminar Updated
4. Instructions for Filing New York State Income Tax Forms If You are Married
5. Early Registration for Fall 2007 Begins Thursday, April 12
6. Next International Coffee Hour is April 13
7. International Student Graduation Reception May 12 8.
8. H-1B Visa Issues are at the Forefront This Week

1. National Holidays for April

The following countries are celebrating national holidays in April

Country	Date
Senegal	04-Apr
Denmark	16-Apr
Syria	17-Apr
Zimbabwe	18-Apr
Tanzania	26-Apr
Sierra Leone	27-Apr
South Africa	27-Apr
Netherlands	30-Apr

2. International Students Receive Graduate School Awards for Excellence

We want to congratulate the following international students who were recently honored with awards from the Graduate School for excellence in research, teaching, and service/outreach. A total of thirty-three graduate students, both domestic and international, were honored. Well done!!

Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Teaching:

Mustafa Deniz Dalman, Management
Kivanc Kilinc, Art History
Maurice Otieno Odago, Chemistry
Biru Paul, Economics
Daria Sevastianova, Economics
Meiqin Wang, Art History

Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Research:

Nayef Abu-Ghazaleh, Computer Science
Julia Friday, Comparative Literature
Ugur Cem Hasar, Electrical Engineering
Junhong Min, Management
Saygin Salgirli, Art History
Maria Theresia Starzman, Anthropology
Gonzalo Pablo Urcelay, Psychology
Lingyan Wang, Chemistry
Guangneng Zhang, Materials Engineering

3. Income Tax Information: Web Workshop Updated

The Income Tax Web Workshop titled “Completing Your New York State Tax Return for 1040NR Filers” was updated on March 29, 2007. This workshop provides instruction for completing NYS Tax Returns if you have filed a federal form 1040NR. It should be viewed once you have completed your federal forms by using CINTAX .

To learn more about the ISSS Income Tax Web Workshops, and to access the workshops themselves, please visit the following link: http://isss.binghamton.edu/taxes/webworkshp.htm

4. Instructions for Filing New York State Income Tax Forms If You are Married

Many income tax filers are surprised to find that filing New York State income tax forms can be much more complicated than filing federal forms. When completing New York State form IT-203, it is important to correctly complete the personal data information above “Filing Status Question A” AND correctly answer Question A.

How to answer Question A on the New York State form is based on how the similar information was entered on your federal form 1040NR EZ or 1040NR.

If you completed form 1040NR EZ or 1040NR and the “single” box is checked, then you must check “box 1 single” on NYS form IT-203.

If you completed form 1040NR EZ and the “married” box is checked, OR if you completed form 1040NR and the “other married nonresident alien” box is checked, then you must check “box 3, married filing separate return” on NYS form IT-203, even if your spouse is not filing a NYS income tax form, or is residing outside the United States.

If you completed form 1004NR and the “married resident of Mexico or Canada” box, or the “married resident of the Republic of Korea” box is checked, OR you are from India and your spouse is listed in section 7c, then you must check “box 2, married filing joint return” on NYS form IT-203.

New York State has special instructions for entering information about your spouse on NYS form IT-203 if you checked box 3, “married filing separate return” on Question A. New York State only wants you to enter your spouse's social security number, and not your spouse's name, on the line in the box directly above Question A that reads “Spouse's First Name and Middle In itial, Spouse's Last Name, Spouse's Social Security Number.” So, if you checked box 3 in Question A, be sure to leave the boxes for “Spouse's First Name and Middle Initial” and “Spouse's Last Name” blank. Enter your spouse's social security number. If your spouse does not have a social security number, enter the words “Non-Resident Alien” where the form asks for the spouse's social security number.

5. Early Registration for Fall 2007 Begins Thursday, April 12

Current students will be able to advance register for Fall 2007 classes beginning April 12 and ending May 11, 2007. To read the complete announcement from the Registrar's Office, including a schedule of registration starting times, visit: http://registrar.binghamton.edu/newinfo.html#regdates

Schedule of Classes

The Schedule of Classes for Fall 2007 is now available online at http://busi.binghamton.edu/schedule.html The online schedule is the most up to date and accurate source of course information and is the only published version of the Schedule of Classes.

Outstanding Obligations and Missing Health Forms Will Block Students

Students with outstanding financial obligations and students who haven't complied with health requirements to the Health Service office will be blocked from registering. Students can also view their account balances and pay any outstanding debts through the BUSI Web Center: http://busi.binghamton.edu .

BUSI Hours of Operation

Registration on BUSI will begin on April 12th. The system will be available from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 a.m. (22 hrs. per day) seven days a week until Early Registration ends on May 11.

Students can access the registration system at the computer pods (providing a class is not in session), or any other computer with online access using the BUSI Web Center or BUSI Classic (downloading BUICK may be required). To log in you will need to enter your Student ID (or Social Security number) and your 4-digit PAC (Personal Access Code located on the back of your student ID card).

Registration Starting Times

Students are assigned times for early registration according to their total cumulative credits, including in-progress courses. Students can check their total cumulative credits by going to the BUSI web center http://busi.binghamton.edu and clicking on “My Grades and Credits.” For scheduled starting times, visit: http://registrar.binghamton.edu/newinfo.html#regdates

6. Next International Coffee Hour is April 13

This month's International Coffee Hour will be held on Friday, April 13 from 3:30-5:00pm in the University Union Old Union Hall. It is one week later than usual due to the first Friday in April being part of Spring break.

The sponsor of this month's International Coffee Hour is the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations.

Watch for more information in next week's ISSS-BU News

7. International Student Graduation Reception May 12

Students who are graduating, and exchange students completing their programs may wish to mark their calendars now for the 21st annual International Student Graduation Reception, taking place Saturday, May 12 at 7:00pm in the University Union Mandela Room. This is one week earlier than commencement weekend.

Invitations will be sent by e-mail in several weeks, but we wanted to alert our readers who are graduating. If you graduated in December 2006 and are returning to campus for the May 19 and 20 commencement exercises, and would like to receive an invitation to the International Student Graduation Reception on May 12, please let ISSS know by sending an e-mail message with your current e-mail address to: isss@binghamton.edu

The information provided to us by the Registrar's Office only lists Spring 2007 graduates, but we know some Fall 2006 graduates will return for the ceremonies, and we want to be sure we don't miss anyone! Also, if you will graduate in Summer 2007 and would like to attend the International Student Graduation Reception on May 12, please follow the instructions above.

8. H-1B Visa Issues are at the Forefront This Week

Our readers who are familiar with the H-1B “specialty occupations” visa know that April 1, 2007 was the first day that H-1B petitions subject to the visa “cap” or limit could be filed by employers to hire foreign nationals with bachelor's degrees or higher for the new federal fiscal year. The fiscal year starts October 1, 2007. Since April 1 fell on a Sunday, it is today, Monday April 2, that all H-1B petitions with start dates of October 1, 2007 will begin to be processed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Today's date is being watched closely, because many predict that the number of H-1B visas will be used up very quickly. USCIS will publish an announcement once all available H-1B visas that are “cap-subject” are accounted for. To read the March 27, 2007 news release on this subject, visit: http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/H1B_Update.pdf

For two useful articles on the H-1B visa category visit the following links from the law firm of Miller Mayer in Ithaca, New York.
http://www.millermayer.com/resources/nonimmigrant/h1fact.html
http://www.millermayer.com/resources/H1Bcapmemo.html

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.