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Editor’s Note: Spring Break has begun, and classes resume on Monday, March 28. The ISSS and all other university offices will be open during this period. Planning to travel during Spring Break? Be sure that you have read our travel information at:
http://www2.binghamton.edu/isss/travel/springbrk.html and be sure you have your passport, I-20 or DS-2019, I-94 departure card, and insurance ID card with you when you travel.
ISSS Email Accounts are Migrating to a New Server Today: All ISSS staff personal email accounts and all isss topic accounts isss@binghamton.edu, intl.work@binghamton.edu, intl.extend@binghamton.edu, intl.insure@binghamton.edu, and ddisss@binghamton.edu are migrating to a new server today, Monday March 21. If you send an email to one of the isss email accounts and it bounces back with an error, try re-typing the full email address letter by letter. After you do that one time, you won’t have to re-type future emails to that address.
CONTENTS:
1. Here Over Break? Join CCE
2. International Student Administrative Fee Will Now Be Charged for Summer Session
3. Physical Facilities Seeks Summer Student Employees
4. Is Box 13 Checked on Your New York State W-2 Form?
5. Forms 1042-S Have Now Been Distributed
6. Important Items to Remember When Completing Income Tax Forms
7. Income Tax Information: How To File an Amended Tax Return
8. Important Workshop on Post-Graduation Employment Issues Friday, April 8
The Center for Civic Engagement wants to hear from you! CCE is looking for students to participate in a one-hour focus group session to better understand preferences for receiving information about academic and service events and opportunities. Sessions will be conducted during and after the upcoming break. Free food and T-shirts will be provided to all participants. If you are interested, fill out the brief form at http://bit.ly/FocusGroupRSVP or contact Anthony at anaglie1@binghamton.edu Participation is voluntary. For further information regarding your rights as a research participant, contact the Human Subjects Research Review Office at 607-777-3818.
2. International Student Administrative Fee Will Now Be Charged for Summer Session
As part of each student’s bill, there is a mandatory international student administrative fee charged to all international students on F or J visas. Until now, the fee was not charged for students registering for the Summer Session, and instead, students enrolled for the Fall and Spring semesters subsidized those costs. However, now that an increasing number of international students register for summer courses, including students from other US schools who take classes for the Summer Session only, it is no longer possible for those costs to be incurred by Fall and Spring semester international students. Therefore, beginning with the 2011 Summer Session, any international student on an F or J visa registering for a summer class will also be charged the International Student Administrative Fee. If you have questions, please send an email message to isss@binghamton.edu
3. Physical Facilities Seeks Summer Student Employees
Physical Facilities is now accepting applications for its Summer Student Hiring Program. For more information and/or to complete the application process, visit http://www2.binghamton.edu/physical-facilities/summer-student-hiring.html. Questions regarding this program should be e-mailed to pfsummer@binghamton.edu. Do not call to inquire on the status of your application; all applicants selected will be contacted via e-mail.
4. Is Box 13 Checked on Your New York State W-2 Form?
Some of our students who are GAs and TAs are completing their NYS income tax forms, and have noted that for some individuals their W-2 forms issued by NYS have box 13 checked "retirement plan." The check box indicates that they are eligible to join the NYS Employee’s Retirement System – it does not necessarily mean that a student has actually enrolled in a retirement plan. For the purposes of completing NYS Form IT-2, if Box 13 on your New York State W-2 is checked as “retirement plan” leave Box 13 on Form IT-2 blank.
5. Forms 1042-S Have Now Been Distributed
International students who are non-residents for tax purposes, and who were eligible to receive form 1042-S based on either a scholarship or a tax treaty by filing special forms with either Mr. Fred Bucalos of the Office of Human Resources, or with the SUNY Research Foundation Payroll Office should have now received their 1042-S Forms in the mail. If you have not already done so, please use CINTAX to report the income listed on the 1042-S on your tax returns. If you do not yet have a CINTAX account, you may obtain one by requesting an access code at:
http://www2.binghamton.edu/isss/taxes/cintax.html
6. Important Items to Remember When Completing Income Tax Forms
A number of students sometimes forget all of the necessary steps when completing their income tax forms. Here is a helpful reminder for ISSS-BU News readers:
7. Income Tax Information: How To File an Amended Tax Return
Some students have already filed their federal and state income tax returns, only to find that additional income reports for calendar year 2010 have arrived in the mail, either in the form of a W-2 or 1042-S. In such situations, an amended return needs to be filed. The instructions below are also available at: http://www2.binghamton.edu/isss/taxes/taxamend.html
Here's how to file an amended return.
To amend a federal return 1040NR EZ or 1040NR, first enter the updated information into CINTAX, and print a new 1040NR EZ or 1040NR. Write “amended” at the top of the new 1040NR EZ or 1040NR. Then, obtain form 1040X and instructions from the IRS website:
Form: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040x.pdf
Instructions: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040x.pdf
Only enter your name, address and social security number on form 1040X. Also, complete line B on the front of the 1040X and part II on page 2 of form1040X (Part II is on the reverse side of the form). Include in part II of form 1040X an explanation of the changes or corrections being made. Be sure to sign the bottom of the 1040X. Attach the Part B federal copy of any new W-2 or 1042-S you are reporting. Attach the new 1040NR EZ or 1040NR behind the 1040X. Both the 1040X and amended 1040NR EZ should be sent together to the same Austin, Texas address where you mailed your original 1040NR EZ or 1040NR, which is: Internal Revenue Service Center, Austin, TX 73301-0215.
If you also filed a New York State form IT 203, you will need to amend that form as well, but the procedure is different than it is for the federal forms. To amend NYS form IT 203, obtain form IT 203-X and instructions from the New York State Tax Department website:
http://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/2010/fillin/inc/it203x_2010_fill_in.pdf Complete the IT 203-X in the same way you filled out the original IT 203, but this time make all necessary changes or corrections on the new form. Also complete Part IV and sign at the bottom of page 3. Prepare a new IT-2 if necessary. Otherwise, attach a copy of your previous IT-2 and a copy of IT-203B. Attach any 1042-S you are reporting. The IT 203-X and all attachments should be sent to: State Processing Center, PO Box 61000, Albany, New York 12261-0001 if you are entitled to a refund, OR to State Processing Center, PO Box 5555, Albany, New York 12212-5555 if you owe tax to New York State.
Remember to make all necessary adjustments to total income and taxes when completing the amended forms, and keep copies of everything you send.
8. Important Workshop on Post-Graduation Employment Issues Friday, April 8
What may be the most important immigration workshop offered this year will be held Friday, April 8 at 4:00pm in Academic A, Ground Floor, Room G08. Will you be seeking employment in the United States after graduation? Do you have questions regarding H-1B visas, labor certification, PERM and employment-based permanent residency? Are you confused about the H-1B “cap” and the “cap gap?” How long are H-1B visa numbers likely to last, and what is the earliest date for submitting an H-1B petition with an October 1, 2011 start date? What about those 20,000 extra H-1B visa slots for those with U.S. master’s degrees or higher? What is going on with H-1B placement agencies, the new deemed export attestation requirements, and are there any issues if you travel into the United States with a new H-1B visa? You do not want to miss this workshop!
Learn about your options under U.S. immigration law from special guest and featured speaker, nationally known immigration attorney Stephen Yale-Loehr from the law firm of Miller Mayer LLP in Ithaca, New York. This workshop is sponsored by the Office of International Student and Scholar Services.
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