1. Very Important Documents
Please do not lose any of these documents.
Passport
I-20 Form

2. Student responsibilities
F-1 students’ main purpose for being in the US is to be a student.
It is your responsibility to maintain your legal status while in the United States.
Immigration regulations may change during your studies. Make sure to read s sent to you by the McCulloch Center.

3. Maintaining your immigration status
Maintain a valid passport
Maintain a valid I-20 Form
Maintain full time enrollment
No unauthorized employment
Obtain travel signatures
Report address changes over summer session

4. maintain a valid passport
Check to insure that your passport is still valid.
Six months prior to your passport expiring, you should contact your country’s embassy in Washington, DC to start processing an extension.
Keep it safe! If lost or stolen, report it to the police and to your embassy immediately
If you have a valid visa in the expiring passport, your country will attach the expired passport to your new passport so you are still able to use the valid visa. They will invalidate all the other pages.

5. Maintain full time enrollment
You must be registered as a full time student for every semester you are enrolled at MHC.
-12 credits per semester
If you need to drop below full-time enrollment (generally only allowed for documented medical reasons), you must see Jenny or Donna before dropping below full time. Failure to do this will result in our office having to notify the immigration service that you are out of legal immigration status.

6. YOUR RIGHTS IN THE UNITED STATES
Criminal activity can impact your ability to enter the U.S. or remain in the U.S.
Even an arrest without a conviction can cause you immigration problems
If arrested, you will need a criminal defense lawyer who is also familiar with immigration law. You may need to hire an immigration attorney to work with your criminal defense attorney.
You do not have to speak with the police without an attorney present

7. I-20 FORM Your responsibility to keep your Form I- 20 current
Retain all Forms I-20 ever issued to you

9. I-94 Arrival/Departure
You can print your I-94 card at the Customs and Border Protection website:
You will need your name, date of birth, passport number, class of admission (for most F-1)
If you are a transfer student and have not departed the US , you might still have the old version of the I-94 (white card in your passport). Please make sure to keep this in your passport it costs $300 to replace. You will give this form up the next time you depart the US and will be issued an electronic one upon re-entry.

10. US Visa Stamp

11. Travel signatures before leaving the U.s.
You should bring in your I-20 form for a travel signature from either Jenny or Donna at least one week before you will be traveling outside the U.S.
We will send reminder messages about this during peak travel times (fall break, December break, spring break, summer break)
On page 2 of the I-20 it states that travel signatures are valid for one year so you will only need to have your I-20 form signed for travel once per year.

12. No unauthorized work
On-Campus: If you are at MHC on the F-1 student visa, you can work on campus up to 20 hours a week when school is in session and full time during J Term and the summer. The Village Commons and Stony Brook Childcare are not considered on campus employment. Off-campus Employment: you can not accept any off-campus employment without permission from the Immigration Service or the McCulloch Center There are two types of off campus work permission for F-1 students but you will not be eligible for either until you have been enrolled in F-1 status for one full academic year and have a declared major. Any work you do off campus must be directly related to your academic major. We will have an information sessions on off campus employment during the spring semester. We will send reminder s.

13. Applying for a Social Security Number
Needed for application
-Valid passport
-I-20 form
-Employment letter from on campus employer.
Please visit our website for the template of this letter. It must be on the letterhead of the department you will be working for.
-Support letter from McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives
Representatives from the Social Security Administration will be on campus on Friday, September 23rd from 12:30pm-4pm in 318 Blanchard to accept applications for social security numbers. If you can not apply during this time, you will need to go to the SS Office in Holyoke at 200 High Street. There are no buses that go directly to this office (the Tiger trolley does go to Holyoke) and you will need to find your own transportation to get there if you are unable to apply on September 23rd.

14. COPYING OF VISA DOCUMENTS
Please bring your visa documents (I-20 form, passport) to the McCulloch Center so we can make a copy for your file and for your social security application.
You can bring them in Monday through Friday between 8:30-2:30

15. Income Tax Fines? Pay Too Much? Due Date? Who Files? Help? How Much?
Underpay, Late filing, Fraudulent claim
Pay Too Much?
Get it back from employer or IRS
Help?
IRS Website
The McCulloch Center purchases a software program that international students can use to do their federal taxes for free .
Due Date?
April 15 or June 15 for previous year
Who Files?
All international students, regardless of if you have worked or not
How Much?
Withholding according to W-4
Tax treaty benefits
Social Security Withholding

19. If you are a citizen of one of the following countries, please come up front as we have another form for you to complete related to tax treaties.
Bangladesh
China
France
Germany
Philippines
Poland
Russia
South Korea
Thailand