Office of International Student Services Newsletter

 Volume IV, Number 19

· Flag Bearer information for students graduating May 2007

Important Information

· Immigration fees likely to increase after April 2, 2007
· Information about 2006 taxes
· Did you travel during J-term? Please bring in your travel documents to OISS!

Upcoming Activities

· Feb 21- Multicultural Forum Career Fair
· Feb 23 - Mardi Gras Party at the Wellness House
· Feb 27 - Film and Discussion to Focus on Racism and White Privilege
· Mar 2-9 - St. Thomas Heritage Week events
· Mar 9 - Heritage Week Community Service Project

Interesting Articles

· Assistantships available for Graduate Students
· Center for Writing helps students with the writing process
· Free Princeton Review MBA forum will be held March 1
· Looking for a place to call home in 2007-2008?
· Photo exhibit at St. Thomas captures Lake Superior’s North Shore
· STAR offers swing dance lessons

Personal Ads

· Free appliances at OISS!
· Salsa Dance lessons at the U of M (Word document)

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.
   Note: All the forms are now available at OISS.
    
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 the four Sundays listed below, 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.
   • Sunday, February 25 from noon to 3pm
   • Sunday, March 11 from noon to 3pm
   • Sunday, March 25 from noon to 3pm
   • Sunday, April 8 from noon to 3pm

   Please email oiss@stthomas.edu to schedule an appointment.