1. National Holidays for June
2. Have You Received Your Income Tax Refund?
3. USCIS Announces Significant Fee Increases to Take Effect July 30, 2007
4. Are You Graduating in Summer 2007 and Plan to Apply for Practical Training?
5. Important Information for Those Who Will Graduate in Summer 2007
6. Career Forums for Japanese-English Bilingual Students

1. National Holidays for June

The following countries are celebrating national holidays during the month of June:

Country	Date
Kenya	1-June
Samoa	1-June
Italy	2-June
Tonga	4-June
Sweden	6-June
Portugal	10-June
Philippines	12-June
Iceland	17-June
Seychelles	18-June
Luxembourg	23-June
Mozambique	25-June
Slovenia	25-June
Madagascar	26-June
Djibouti	27-June

2. Have You Received Your Income Tax Refund?

Students and scholars who filed their 2006 income tax forms by the April 17, 2007 deadline and were eligible to receive an income tax refund should have received their payments by now.

But, for those of you who expected a refund but have not received a response as yet, both the U.S. Federal government and the New York State government provide easy ways for you to check on the status of your refund.

The phone number for inquiries about federal income tax refunds is: 1-800-829-1954. Assistance is available Monday-Friday 7am to 10pm

You can also inquire on the web at: http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96596,00.html

The phone number for inquiries about NYS income tax refunds is:
1-800-443-3200. Assistance is available Monday-Friday 8am to 5pm
You can also inquire on the web at: https://www7.nystax.gov/PRIS/prisHome

This information is also available on the ISSS tax web page. The direct link is:
http://isss.binghamton.edu/taxes/taxrefunds.htm

You should have a copy of your income tax forms in front of you when you call or go on the web, as you will likely be asked to indicate the numbers of the forms you filed. You will also be asked for your social security number.

3. USCIS Announces Significant Fee Increases to Take Effect July 30, 2007

On Wednesday, May 30, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule in the Federal Register implementing significant increases to application filing fees. The new fees take effect on July 30, 2007. Any applications or petitions postmarked or otherwise filed on or after July 30, 2007 must include the new fee.

USCIS originally proposed the increased fees in February 2007. As required by law, there was a 60-day comment period for the public to review and provide input on the proposal. More than 3900 comments were received.

USCIS provides the following justification for the fee increases:

“These fees fund the cost of processing applications and petitions for immigration benefits and services, and USCIS' associated operating costs. USCIS is revising these fees because the current fee schedule does not adequately reflect current USCIS processes or recover the full costs of services provided by USCIS. Without an immediate adjustment of the fee schedule, USCIS cannot provide adequate capacity to process all applications and petitions in a timely and efficient manner. In addition, the revised fees will eliminate USCIS' dependency on revenue from interim benefits, temporary programs, and premium processing fees. This rule also merges fees for certain applications and petitions so applicants and petitioners will only have to pay a single fee. In addition, the rule expands the classes of aliens that will be exempt from paying filing fees for certain immigration benefits, and modifies the criteria for waiving the filing fee due to an individual's inability to pay. Based on comments received by USCIS during the public comment period, this rule changes the fees for adjustment of status applications, and the fee waiver and exemption eligibility criteria for several immigration benefits. This final rule will provide sufficient funding for USCIS to meet national security, customer service, and processing time goals, and to sustain and improve service delivery.”

Here are the new fees for the forms most frequently used by international students,:
Form I-102 replace I-94 card  $320.00 (currently $160.00)

Form I-539 change of non immigrant status, reinstatement to F-1 status $300.00 (currently $200.00)

Form I-765 application for employment authorization (OPT, economic hardship , J-2 employment, etc) $340  (currently $180.00)

Some fees, such as the $100 Federal SEVIS fee, have not changed.

The ISSS strongly encourages students who are Summer 2007 graduates planning to apply for Optional Practical Training after graduation to be sure to begin the OPT application process well before July 30, and to make sure that their OPT applications are postmarked before July 30, 2007 to retain the benefit of the $180 application filing fee, rather than having to pay the new $340 filing fee. Fall 2007 graduates who are planning to apply for Optional Practical Training cannot file their application any sooner than early September and will therefore be subject to the new, higher fee.

Here are the links to the USCIS information:

Fee increase: fee chart
http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/FinalUSCISFeeSchedule052907.pdf

Fee increase: Q & A
http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/FinalFeeRuleQsAs052907.pdf

Fee increase: Press Release
http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/FinalFeeRulePressRelease052907.pdf

Federal Register Final Rule
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-10371.pdf

4. Are You Graduating In Summer 2007 and Plan to Apply for Practical Training?

Students in F-1 status who will be graduating in Summer 2007 and plan to apply for Optional Practical Training after graduation are reminded to file their practical training applications well in advance of the date they would like practical training to begin. Currently, the USCIS Vermont Processing Center is taking approximately twelve weeks to process EAD cards for practical training.

In general, the ISSS recommends that practical training applications be filed at least twelve weeks (three months) in advance of the requested starting date. Your application must be received by the USCIS Vermont Processing Center before your degree completion date, which is August 17, 2007 for Summer 2007 graduates. So, if you would like your practical training to begin in late August to mid-October, now is the time to start the application process!

Also, by filing your OPT application prior to July 30, 2007, you'll be able to pay the current $180 filing fee. The filing fee increases to $340 on July 30.

Applications for OPT are available in the ISSS. Please allow 7 to 10 days for ISSS processing and remember to allow for these processing times if your goal is to mail your OPT application to the USCIS Vermont Service Center so that it is postmarked before July 30 . Still have questions? Then make an appointment with Karen Keefe-Guzikowski or Amelia Shafer.

5. Important Information for Those Who Will Graduate in Summer 2007

The Office of International Student and Scholar Services reminds students that if you will graduate in Summer 2007, you must do two things:

•  You must be registered for the Summer

•  You must file a "Declaration of Candidacy Form" with the Graduate School if you are a graduate student, or an "Application for Undergraduate Degree" with the Registrar's Office if you are an undergraduate student. Both of these forms may be found on the ISSS website: http://isss.binghamton.edu/forms/index.html

Failure to take care of both steps may have negative consequences for your immigration status if you are an F-1 or J-1 student and have a SEVIS I-20 or DS-2019 with a summer completion date.

6. Career Forums for Japanese-English Bilingual Students

DISCO International, organizer of the major job fairs for Japanese-English bilingual students, the Boston Career Forum, is currently conducting a summer campaign to encourage students to register with CFN before the summer begins.

If you are a Japanese – English bi-lingual student, join CFN between now and June 8th and you are eligible to win great prizes. Please go to http://www.careerforum.net/campaign/07spring/index.asp?lang=E to learn more about the promotional summer campaign.

By registering to CFN, you have access to the following job fairs:
Tokyo Summer Career Forum
July 3rd & 4th, 2007

Tokyo Big Sight (Tokyo, Japan)
Los Angeles Career Forum
Sept. 21st & 22nd, 2007

Renaissance Hollywood Hotel (Los Angeles, CA)
Boston Career Forum
November 9th - 11th, 2007

Hynes Convention Center (Boston, MA)
Tokyo Winter Career Forum
December 20th & 21st, 2007

Tokyo Big Sight (Tokyo, Japan)
New York Career Forum
Mid-February, 2008

For more details on Disco International's Career Forum, go to: http://www.careerforum.net/event/index.asp?lang=E

60% of CFN registrants receive job offers through the Career Forums, so take advantage of what CFN has to offer. If you have any questions, contact cfn@careerforum.net

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.