ISSS News 01 June 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

Editor’s Note: Photos from the International Student Graduation Reception of May 15 and the Graduate School’s Commencement Exercises of May 16 have now been added to the ISSS homepage. Visit http://isss.binghamton.edu and click on the appropriate link. Have a look and see how many people you know!

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

The International Health Insurance walk-in appointments normally held each Wednesday from 1:30pm to 3:15pm will not take place on Wednesday, June 3 because Diane Sliwinski will be away from the office. Health Insurance walk-in appointments resume on Wednesday, June 10.

Summer Session is underway, and OCC Transport (OCCT) has posted its summer schedule. It is available at http://www.occtransport.com/. From the menu on the left side of the screen, click on “schedules.”

Contact occtpr@binghamton.edu or call the office at 607-777-6989 with any questions or concerns.

4. Are You Graduating In Summer 2009 and Plan to Apply for Practical Training?

Students in F-1 status who will be graduating in Summer 2009 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 100 days (three months plus ten days) in advance of the requested starting date. 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!

Your application must be received by the USCIS Vermont Processing Center no later than 60 days following your degree completion date, which is August 14, 2009 for Summer 2009 graduates.

Applications for OPT are available in the ISSS, and on-line at http://isss.binghamton.edu/emp/OPTAdvForm.pdf Please allow 7 to 10 days for ISSS processing. Still have questions? Then make an appointment with Karen Keefe-Guzikowski or Amelia Shafer, or attend the Tuesday afternoon employment walk-in appointment time, 1:30pm to 3:15pm.

The Office of International Student and Scholar Services reminds students that if you will graduate in Summer 2009, you must do two things:

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.

The State University of New York (SUNY) has announced the international health insurance rates and benefits for the new policy year, for the period August 15, 2009 through August 14, 2010. After two years of no rate increases, health insurance costs will rise by less than 5% for the new policy year. The student international health insurance charge for the Fall 2009 semester (five months: August 15, 2009 – January 14, 2010) will be $414.50. The student international health insurance charge for Spring-Summer 2010 (seven months: January 15, 2010 – August 14, 2010) will be $580.50. But, with the rate increase come significant enhancements to the insurance policy benefits:

The policy enhancements include:
1. Coverage of MMR and Meningitis Vaccines
2. New Prescription Card with $10/$20 co-payments
3. Removal of co-insurance charges between $4000-$7000
4. Decreased Participant Deductible from $100 to $50 per medical condition
5. Removal of Suicide/self inflicted injuries exclusion

7. Have You Received Your Income Tax Refund?

Students and scholars who filed their 2008 income tax forms by the April 15, 2009 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

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.

USCIS reports that applications continue to be processed, but there has been little change to the numbers reported a week ago. Approximately 45,700 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

USCIS will provide regular updates on the processing of Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 H-1B petitions. The updates can be found on the USCIS’ Web site at www.uscis.gov/h-1b_count

DISCO International, organizer of the biggest job fair for Japanese-English bilingual students, the Boston Career Forum, is currently conducting a spring registration campaign on it's website, CFN (CareerForum.Net). With summer just around the corner, this is a great time to start thinking about one's career.

---* Tokyo Summer Career Forum *---
July 7th & July 8, 2009
Tokyo Big Sight, West Hall 3 (Tokyo, Japan) Registration now open
---------------------------------

--- * Los Angeles Career Forum * ---
October 9 & 10, 2009
Hollywood and Highland Grand Ballroom 5th Floor (Hollywood, CA) Registration now open
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---* Boston Career Forum *---------
November 20-22, 2009
Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (Boston, MA) Registration now open
---------------------------------

---* Tokyo Winter Career Forum *---
Mid-December 2009
Tokyo Big Sight (Tokyo, Japan)
Registration opens October
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