ISSS News 13 April 2009

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

1. Memorial Service and Vigil On Tuesday for Victims of American Civic Association Tragedy

A memorial service and a vigil to honor the memories of the victims of the April 3 killings at the American Civic Association are planned for Tuesday, April 14. Both are open to the public.

President Lois B. DeFleur announces a service to honor those who died or were injured in the April 3, 2009 shooting at the American Civic Association in downtown Binghamton. The service will be held at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, in the Grand Corridor (second floor) of the Fine Arts Building on campus. There will be an opportunity from 3-4:30 p.m. for individuals to express their condolences in writing, to be included in a memorial book. The service will end by placing flowers in the Memorial Courtyard adjacent to the Grand Corridor.

The Student Association is organizing a candlelight vigil on Tuesday, April 14th, at 7:00 p.m. between the Union and Library fountain as a way for students, faculty, administration, and the Binghamton community to all come together and remember those lives lost. The event is free and open to the public.

The Department of Mathematical Sciences has posted a tribute page to Professor Almir Alves, the visiting research scholar from Brazil who was killed at the American Civic Association on April 3 http://www.math.binghamton.edu/

2. Resources for Coping With the Recent Tragedy at the American Civic Association

The Office of International Student and Scholar Services thanks the many current students and alumni who have sent messages of condolence and support. This continues to be a time of great sadness for the families and friends of the victims, and for the survivors who were either injured or ran for safety during the attack at the American Civic Association on April 3, 2009. Many people who do not personally know the victims still feel pain and sorrow at the news that so many lost their lives.

The titles of the publications are:
Coping With Traumatic Events
Suggestions to Help Yourself and Others After a Critical Incident
Tips for Handling Stress In the Aftermath of a Traumatic Incident
Faculty Guide: How to Identify and Assist at Student in Distress
You are encouraged to view these documents at the Counseling Center link, above.

As recent events have shown, the potential for violence can exist anywhere. In an emergency, Binghamton University participates in the SUNY NY-Alert program to provide students, staff and faculty emergency messages during critical incidents, including when classes are suspended due to weather conditions. Registration is voluntary and can be done through the BU-Brain portal.

This system allows you to receive emergency messages via email, as voice mail to your cell phone, or as a text message to your cell phone. You can even receive the emergency message as a fax. You choose the options for receiving messages. The system is only used for essential communication during critical incidents and is not used for other purposes. If you do not register for this system, you will not receive emergency messages. You are strongly encouraged to register for SUNY NY-Alert to stay informed during urgent situations. Visit http://bubrain.binghamton.edu, log in and from “My Information”, select Emergency Alert Contact Information (NY-ALERT)

You must register for the service to receive it. Registration is free of charge!

As a helpful guide to our readers, we would like to remind you that the deadline for filing federal and state income tax returns is Wednesday, April 15, 2009. Income tax forms must be mailed by this date. Forms may continue to be mailed after that date, but if you owe tax, you may be charged a penalty.

Non residents for tax purposes (F and J students and their dependents who have been in the United States for five or fewer years in that status—entered the United States in 2004 or later, and J scholars who have been in the United States for two or fewer years in that status – entered the United States in 2007 or later, are eligible to use CINTAX, a free web-based tax preparation product for filing federal tax forms.

If you already have a CINTAX access code and are ready to log into CINTAX, go to the following link: http://www.cintax.us

If you had no U.S. income for calendar year 2008 (other than bank interest) and are a non-resident for tax purposes, file form 8843.

If you had U.S. income for calendar year 2008 and are a non-resident for tax purposes, you file form 1040NR EZ or form 1040NR

Please note that federal non-resident income tax forms cannot be e-filed. You must mail in the forms.

CINTAX will chose the correct federal income tax forms for you, and complete them based on the information you provide. You will then be able to print them from the web and mail them to the Internal Revenue Service.

If you had any New York State–sourced income for 2008, and your total income (from NYS and other states) as reported on your federal tax return was more than $7500, you must also file a New York State tax return. If your income was less than $7500 but New York State tax was withheld and you would like a refund of that tax, you should also file a New York State tax return.

It is strongly recommended that you view one of the ISSS on-line webinars for complete instructions on completing your New York State income tax return. There is also an on-line web workshop on federal income tax and CINTAX. All webinars and the New York State income tax forms may be accessed from the following link:
http://isss.binghamton.edu/taxes/webworkshp.htm

Need more time to complete your tax filing? You may request up to a six-month extension of your filing deadline, if you complete the appropriate extension form by Tuesday, April 15. See the following link for full details:
http://isss.binghamton.edu/taxes/taxexten.html

For the first time in several years, neither the regular cap of 65,000 H-1B visas nor the US master’s (or higher degree) cap of 20,000 H-1B visas was reached in the first five business days that began on April 1, 2009. Therefore, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will continue to accept applications that are subject to the visa cap for Federal Fiscal Year 2010, which begins October 1, 2009.

On Thursday, April 9, USCIS stated that only 42,000 H-1B visa petitions were received for the 65,000 “general” cap – those with Bachelor degrees or higher from the United States or abroad. USCIS has received approximately 20,000 H-1B visa petitions for the US Master’s (or higher degree) cap, but will continue to accept such petitions since experience has shown that not all petitions received are approvable.

One year ago, USCIS had received approximately 163,000 applications for both the general and US master’s cap combined.

For any cases that were received for premium processing during the initial five-day filing window that ended on April 7, 2009, the fifteen-day premium-processing period began on April 7.

USCIS will continue to provide periodic updates on their website, http://www.uscis.gov

6. Will the Travel Signature on Your SEVIS I-20 or SEVIS DS-2019 Expire Soon?

In the next two weeks, the ISSS will begin publishing its annual Spring travel series, with up-to-date information on what you need to know if you are an international student who will travel this summer.

A large number of international students have SEVIS I-20s or SEVIS DS-2019s that are in need of an updated travel signature. Do you need a new travel signature from the ISSS? Take a look at your most recent I-20 or DS-2019. If you have an I-20, look at page 3. If you have a DS-2019, look at the travel signature in the lower right hand corner of page 1. If the date that the ISSS staff person signed the I-20 or DS-2019 for travel will be more than one year old upon your return to the United States, bring in the I-20 or DS-2019 to the ISSS for an updated signature. If you have a spouse and/or children with a dependent I-20 or DS-2019, the travel signature on that form should be updated as well.

Students already on authorized post-completion Optional Practical Training require a travel signature on page 3 of the I-20 that will be less than six months old upon your return to the United States.

Note: If you have submitted an application to the ISSS for curricular practical training, optional practical training or extension of stay, you will receive an updated SEVIS I-20 with a new signature as part of the CPT, OPT or extension process.

International students in F-1 status who will be graduating in May 2009 and plan to apply for optional practical training 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 no later than sixty days following your degree completion date, which is May 17, 2009 for Spring 2009 students. However, remember that an application filed that late will take an additional 12 weeks to process, and you cannot be employed until you have the Employment Authorization Document in hand. Applications are available in the ISSS. Please allow 7 to 10 days for ISSS processing. Still have questions? Then make an appointment with Karen Keefe-Guzikowski, Associate Director or Amelia Shafer, Assistant Director.

8. Leadership Volunteers Needed - Fall 2009 International Student Orientation

Are you interested in helping new international students during Orientation and adding Leadership and U.S. Culture Training experience to your resume? Then, sign up to be a Leadership Volunteer!

Leadership Volunteers are a select group of Binghamton University students, who join ISSS staff to welcome new international students during Fall International Student Orientation. Leadership Volunteer recruitment is now underway.

Leadership Volunteers engage in a 5-day training program to help prepare them for their role during Orientation. The training program is organized by the 5 goals of the Orientation program:

The Training Program includes activities that give all Leadership Volunteers the opportunity to:

During Orientation, Leadership Volunteers greet new international students at Check-In, welcome them during the Introductory Meeting, lead small group discussions, accompany them to all meals, provide reassurance and essential information, and most importantly contribute to a warm and sincere presence during the new international student's first few days on campus. Many new students tell the ISSS how important the Leadership Volunteers were to their initial experience at Binghamton University. Many Leadership Volunteers tell the ISSS how valuable the training was to their own professional and personal development.

Leadership Volunteer Training will take place Monday, August 17 to Friday, August 21, 2009. International Student Orientation starts Monday, August 24 and ends on Wednesday, August 26, 2009.

If you are interested in discussing the possibility of being a Leadership Volunteer, please e-mail Karen Keefe-Guzikowski at kkeefe@binghamton.edu. Karen will send you an information packet and an application.

Fall 2009 Early Registration is now underway, and will continue until May 8, 2009. For general information on registration times visit: http://registrar.binghamton.edu/registration.htm For your specific registration time for Fall 2009 pre-registration, go to BU Brain

Students with outstanding financial obligations and students who haven't complied with health requirements to the Health Service office will be blocked from registering. Students can also view their account balances and pay any outstanding debts through BU Brain Please note: release of financial holds will not occur until the next business day.

The Registrar’s Office has posted the Fall 2009 Schedule of Classes on BU Brain It can be viewed as a grid schedule of classes and as a detailed schedule of classes. The online schedule is the most up to date and accurate source of course information and is the only published version of the Schedule of Classes.

Accessing your schedule: You can view and print your schedule online by logging into the BU BRAIN. Room assignments shown online are the most accurate and up to date, but know that these assignments are subject to change.

Credit limit: The maximum number of credits you may register for are listed by student level and term at http://registrar.binghamton.edu/registration.htm These limits include HPEY or MUSP credits and are enforced regardless of GPA. If you seek to register for more than the stated limit, please follow your school's procedure for petitioning for an overload (see http://bulletin.binghamton.edu).

With the passage of April 15, 2009, this year’s income tax season will come to a close. The ISSS wishes to thank Mr. Jim Rollo for providing volunteer income tax services this year. For students who used CINTAX, your CINTAX tax records remain available to you until June 15, 2009, at which time all files will be deleted. Be sure to print and save a copy of all income tax returns, and keep them in a safe place with your important records. The ISSS will continue to provide CINTAX access codes to any student who is filing late, and will maintain its supply of income tax forms for several months, to allow for students who need to file amended returns or those who are filing late. Then, the forms will be placed in storage.

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