Office of International Student Services Newsletter

 Volume IV, Number 16

· Welcome and Welcome Back to St. Thomas!
· Apply to be an international mentor
· Share your culture! Join CultureLink!

Important Information

· F-1 and J-1 students: turn in exception form before Feb 9
· Information about 2006 taxes
· Health Insurance Waivers due Feb 16

Upcoming Activities

· Feb 2 - "Race: Are We So Different?" organized by MSS
· Feb 4 - Wellness House SuperBowl party
· Feb 7 & 8 - “In God’s Image: Reflections on Race and Privilege” organized by MSS
· Feb 8 - H-1 visa status and Permanent Residency
· Feb 8 - Career Fair Success Tactics
· Feb 20-21 -  Minnesota Private College Job and Internship Fair
· Feb 21- Multicultural Forum Career Fair

Interesting Articles

· Assistantships available for Graduate Students
· Will a winter storm cancel classes?

Personal Ads

· Salsa Dance lessons at the U of M

All students who were on a F-1 or J-1 visa type during any part of 2006 are required to file for taxes.

OISS will be offering several types of assistance; students can choose the approach that works best for them. However, we are strongly encouraging students to use the Cintax on-line software listed below in item 2. We will provide the following information and assistance to nonimmigrant international students:

1. We will have Federal and State of Minnesota income tax forms (on paper) available in our office. You can use these paper forms and instructions to fill out your forms on your own, or to read and prepare for the assistance offered in items 2 and 3 below.
   Please note that we have yet to receive these forms as of 01/31/2007 and will notify all students when they arrive.
    
2. We have purchased an Internet-based tax software program called Cintax (formerly know as NRAware), which is a U.S. Tax Form Preparation Program designed specifically for international students and scholars in F-1, J-1, F-2 and J-2 status (This software is not applicable for students in H-1 visa status and students who are considered ‘residents’ for tax purposes). In order to use the Cintax please email OISS at oiss@stthomas.edu to get your unique password to access the program on-line from any computer with access to the internet. The instructions on how to use the Cintax program will be emailed to you alongside of your password. Please read the instructions thoroughly and make sure you have all the documents listed before you begin.
    
3. On four Sundays in the February-April period; we are bringing tax professionals to our offices that have been trained in international students’ tax forms and issues. They will give individual assistance to students to prepare your Federal tax forms. However, they will only assist students who have all their W-2 and 1042s in hand and have completed the basic information on the 8843 and 1040NR forms. Since this is a service that we are paying for and providing to students with limited income, the tax professionals will not assist students whose annual income is more than $20,000.