ISSS News 05 February 2007

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

Editor's Note: The Office of International Student and Scholar Services has opened access to CINTAX, the income tax preparation software for filing your federal tax forms. E-mail messages were sent out late last week. If you did not receive an e-mail message, go to the following link to read the message text and request a CINTAX password: http://isss.binghamton.edu/taxes/cintax.htm

The ISSS has not yet received its supply of income tax forms. However, if you are using CINTAX , it will print all the necessary Federal forms. The ISSS hopes to have information on NY State Tax forms in the coming week. For more information on tax filing, read today's income tax article, below.

The following countries are celebrating national holidays during the month of February.

In early January, the weather was so mild that high temperature records were broken. What a difference a month makes! Today is extremely cold, and many students wonder what the University procedures are for classes when the weather is inclement.

As a State facility, Binghamton University can only be closed by order of the Governor of New York, but university presidents are authorized to cancel classes and recommend that all but essential employees not report to work in some situations. Unless weather conditions are so severe that the University issues special instructions regarding opening and remaining open, classes are in session. In the event of severe conditions, the University will make announcements on its website at: http://www.binghamton.edu/home/updates/snowline.html

Please note that on many days when local school districts close their schools due to weather conditions, the University will remain open, so be sure to check the website or call the "SNOW" line.

The ISSS would like to take this opportunity to remind students in F-1 and J-1 status that you are required to be registered for a full-time course load each semester.

Minimum Full Time Course Loads:
• Exchange Students: 12 credits per semester
• Undergraduates: 12 credits per semester
• Graduate Master's Level 1: 12 credits per semester
• Graduate Master's Level 2 (completion of at least 24 credits): 9 credits per semester
• Graduate Master's students who need only thesis or project to complete their program: 1 credit or more per semester that can be certified as full-time by department. Such students, if they are registered for less than 9 credits, must submit the Graduate School's "Certification of Full-Time Status for Students Not Receiving Tuition Scholarships" form to their department each semester for filing with the Graduate School. This form may be found at the following website: http://gradschool.binghamton.edu/documents/FTCForm.pdf
• Graduate PhD students: 9 credits per semester
• Graduate PhD students admitted to candidacy or who have pre-dissertation or dissertation research: 1 credit or more per semester that can be certified as full-time by the department. Such students, if they are registered for less than 9 credits, must submit the Graduate School's "Certification of Full-Time Status for Students Not Receiving Tuition Scholarships" form to their department each semester for filing with the Graduate School. This form may be found at the following website:
http://gradschool.binghamton.edu/documents/FTCForm.pdf

There are some very limited exceptions to the full-time course requirement. See the next article, below. For complete information on full-time registration, stop by the ISSS to obtain a handout on Rules for Maintaining a Full-Time Course Load, or view the handout on the ISSS website at: http://isss.binghamton.edu/imm/RuleFTload.htm

4. Be Sure You Have Permission in Advance to Take Less Than a Full-Time Course Load, If Applicable to You

There are very few exceptions to the full time course load rule for students in F-1 status. Those exceptions include academic difficulty, medical condition, and completion of study, and there are strict criteria for each. In every instance, you must obtain PRIOR authorization from the ISSS. Only once you receive this authorization from the ISSS can you then drop the course. A F-1 student who drops below a full course of study without the prior approval of the Office of International Student and Scholar Services will be considered out of status, and must be reported in SEVIS as having dropped below a full-time course load without authorization.

There is a special form for each of the three exceptions, available in the ISSS and as a downloadable document on the ISSS website, visit: http://isss.binghamton.edu/forms/index.html and scroll down to “request for reduced course load.”

Each form must be completed by the student (and in the case of reduction in course load due to academic difficulty or due to completion of study, completed by the student's academic advisor) and approved by the ISSS before the course may be dropped.

For detailed information on the rules that allow for a course load reduction for F-1 students, stop by the ISSS to obtain a handout on "Permissible Reasons Under F-1 Regulations to Register for Less Than a Full Time Course Load" or view the handout on the ISSS website at: http://isss.binghamton.edu/imm/lesscourse.htm

Questions or concerns regarding this requirement? Come to the ISSS or send an e-mail message to isss@binghamton.edu

The Career Development Center's Internship & Job Fair is next Thursday, February 8th from 11:00-3:30 in the University Union Mandela Room and Old Union Hall. All majors are encouraged to attend. Representatives from over 70 non-profit, government, and for-profit organizations will be available to speak about internship and post-graduate opportunities. A complete listing of registered organizations can be found on the CDC website at:
http://binghamton.erecruiting.com/stu/cf_details?fhnd=2180

International students in F-1 or J-1 status are reminded that all off-campus employment, including internships, must be authorized before employment can begin. Questions? Come to the ISSS or send an e-mail message to isss@binghamton.edu

The BU Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) will host a traditional Chinese Spring Festival dinner party on the last day of Chinese Lunar Year, Saturday February 17, 2007. All ISSS international students are welcome to attend.

The event will be held at the American Legion Hall, 76 Main Street on Binghamton's West Side. Admission is $2.00 for adults and free for children under 18. The party gets under way at 4:30pm with card games and snacks. Dinner will be served at 6:00pm, followed by games, quizzes and lucky draws at 7:00pm, and Karaoke at 8:00pm. The event ends at 9:30pm. Most of the time, the language spoken will be Mandarin.

The Dual Diploma Programs with Turkey have been named a 2007 winner of the Andrew Heiskell Awards for Innovation in International Education, in the category of “International Exchange Partnerships.”

The Dual Diploma Programs are a joint initiative of the State University of New York (SUNY) and the Council of Higher Education (YOK) in Turkey.

This is the sixth year of the awards program, sponsored by the Institute of International Education (IIE). The awards are named for the late Andrew Heiskell, a longtime member of IIE's Board of Trustees, a renowned philanthropist, and a passionate supporter of international education.

8. US Citizenship and Immigration Services Proposes 86% Application Fees Increase

On February 1, 2007, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a proposal to increase its application fees by an average of 86%. As this is a proposal, there is a sixty-day comment period that will last through April 2, 2007. Should the proposal become law, the new fees would take effect in the early summer, perhaps as early as June. However, because the fee increases are so large, there will likely be Congressional hearings on the amounts.

Here is a list of the current fees and new fees for application types most frequently filed by our students:

I-102 replace lost document (replace I-94 card)
current fee: $160 proposed fee: $320

I-129 petition for non-immigrant worker (H-1B)
current fee: $190 proposed fee $320

I-539 change of non-immigrant status/reinstatement
current fee: $200 proposed fee: $300

I-765 application for employment authorization (including OPT)
current fee: $180 proposed fee: $340

The justification for these increases falls under the title of "Building an Immigration Service for the 21st Century" and discusses how USCIS processing is required to be supported by user fees, and that these increases are needed to provide the necessary level of customer service and improve the USCIS infrastructure needed for this service.

It's important to remember that the increases are only proposals at this point. Thus students who plan to apply for Optional Practical Training will still pay the current $180 filing fee until such time as new fees are enacted.

Below are a number of links to additional information on the proposed increases prepared by USCIS
Fact Sheet: Building an Immigration Service for the 21st Century
http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/FSbuilding.pdf

Do you need to contact your home country's Embassy or Consulate here in the United States? Do you need to contact another country's Embassy or Consulate here in the United States? These useful links will help you. The home page of the embassy generally includes contact information, and links to the consulates.

For students from Taiwan:
Link to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Offices in the United States:
http://www.tecro.org/ (in Washington, D.C.)
http://www.taipei.org/ (in New York City)

The ISSS hopes to announce the arrival of federal and state income tax forms soon. We will publish an announcement in ISSS-BU News once all tax forms are available.

Keep in mind that the deadline for filing tax forms is April 16, 2007, since April 15 falls on a Sunday this year.

Many students have contacted the ISSS to inquire about our tax workshop schedule. We hope to be able to make an announcement regarding tax workshops next week.

A number of students have asked questions about CINTAX . This is a web-based tax preparation product designed for use by international students and scholars who are attending US-colleges and universities. Several hundred US schools provide CINTAX for their campus' use. The ISSS purchases a yearly license for CINTAX and then makes it available free of charge to eligible international students and scholars. CINTAX is for any international student or scholar, and their dependents, who was in the United States for some portion of calendar year 2006 and needs to file an income tax form as a non-resident for tax purposes.

Non-residents are F-1 and J-1 students who have been in the United States for five or fewer years (entered the United States in F-1 or J-1 status in 2002 or later), and J-1 scholars/faculty who have been in the United States for two or fewer years (entered the United States in J-1 scholar/professor status in 2005 or later).

Even if you earned no U.S.-source income during 2006, you still need to file an income tax form. Non-residents with no U.S.-source income just need to file federal form 8843. Non-residents with U.S. source income will need to file either federal form 1040NR EZ or federal form 1040NR ( CINTAX will automatically select the correct form for you). All of these federal forms can be completed by using CINTAX .

In last week's issue of ISSS-BU News , we cautioned our readers to not be hasty in filing their income tax forms. Be sure you have Wage and Tax Statements (form W-2) from all of your 2006 U.S. employers before filing your income tax forms. Also, if you will be issued form 1042-S, you cannot file your income tax form until the 1042-S arrives. For more information on these matters, you can review last week's article at:
http://isss.binghamton.edu/news/isssbu2007/Jan292007.html

If during calendar year 2006 you were employed in New York State and had state income tax withheld that you would like to have refunded to you, OR if you earned more than $7500 in New York State-source income during 2006, you must file a New York State tax return as well. The New York State forms that non-residents file are form IT-203, IT-203B and IT-2. More information about these New York State forms will be made available shortly.

The ISSS website contains helpful information on income tax. Visit http://isss.binghamton.edu and click on “taxes.”

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Country	Date
Sri Lanka	4-Feb
New Zealand	6-Feb
Grenada	7-Feb
Iran	11-Feb
Lithuania	16-Feb
Gambia	18-Feb
United States	19-Feb
St. Lucia	22-Feb
Brunei Darussalam	23-Feb
Guyana	23-Feb
Estonia	24-Feb
Kuwait	25-Feb
Dominican Republic	27-Feb