The Office of Visa Services is located at 120 Alexander Street on the second floor.
They are responsible for immigration advising for international graduate students and faculty
and staff appointed by the Dean of the Faculty.
Undergraduate students should contact the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students,
located at West College.

Link here to the map of campus to find any campus buildings or departments.

Your country of residence represents your place of primary residence. Primary residence
can change over time (the US may become your place of primary residence for a period
of time). It is your responsibility to determine which country is your country of residence
(if not the US) and pay applicable tax on the income earned while in the US to that
country (if required). The university will not be withholding tax on your behalf to that
country (if other than the US). In order to determine your country of residence, you
need to review the taxation laws of that country, as modified by the tax treaty the US
has with that country (if applicable).

Nonresident Alien students on F, J, M, or Q visas may work a maximum of 20 hours
per week while school is in session. When school is not in session (i.e. winter break,
summer if not enrolled) an NRA student may work any number of hours. Working in
excess of 20 hours per week while school is in session is prohibited by the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security, and could endanger your visa status.

No. Under no circumstances may you continue to work unless you submit a proof of
extension. An application for an extension of the Employment Authorization Card is
not acceptable. Also, if you are changing your visa type, you may not work in the
interval between the expiration of the prior visa type and the receipt of U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS) approval for the new visa type. You should initiate
your paperwork through Office of Visa Services and/or Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students well in advance of (preferably 3 months prior to) the expiration date of the current visa.

Bring your new document to the appropriate department to update the I-9 form as soon
as you receive it to ensure your pay is not interrupted.

The following are the most common documents required for re-verification upon expiration
depending on your visa type:

• I-20 (F-1 visa) and F-1 curricular practical training
• DS-2019 (J-1 visa)
• I-797 (H-1B visa; O-1 visa)
• I-94 Card showing TN (Trade-NAFTA), Canada or Mexico only
• INS stamp “In process for I-551”
• I-766, I-688, I-688A, or I-688 Cards (usually held by those with asylum paroled into
  the US, in process for residency, F-1 optional practical training and J-2 visa holders)
• “Conditional” Resident Alien Cards (valid only for 2 years from issue)

In the US, employers are required to “withhold” federal taxes from your payments.
The taxes withheld are reported and submitted to the U.S federal tax department, the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Your income may be exempted from taxation if you
are from a country which has an applicable tax treaty with the U.S. Federal withholding
from taxes on income may be exempted if you are from a treaty country, have satisfied
the eligibility requirements for exemption, and applied for exemption using the proper
exemption forms.

Employers and universities report wages and taxable scholarships paid to NRAs as well as
tax withholdings to the IRS and send statements containing the same information to individuals
by March 15th of every year. Individuals then determine what the correct amount of tax liability
should be through an income tax return (Form 1040 for residents or Form 1040NR
for nonresidents). Federal income tax returns must be filed no later than April 15th
every year (or the next working day after April 15) in order to avoid penalties.

If your employer or the university withholds tax from your income, and you are
eligible for treaty benefits, you can claim those benefits on a Form 1040 or 1040NR
and receive a refund from the IRS of those amounts withheld.

General Information

A tax treaty is an agreement entered into between governments under which each country
agrees to limit or modify the application of its domestic tax laws in an attempt to avoid
double taxation of income to its residents (e.g. having the same income taxed by both countries). Tax treaties vary, but they generally limit or exempt U.S. taxation of
compensation paid to residents of the foreign country. Some tax treaties are limited to an amount of time per year, and/or a limited dollar amount per year.

Wages earned beyond either limit are subject to federal income tax. See IRS Publication 901
“US Tax Treaties” at the IRS web site for more information. (Please use the Glacier System to apply at Princeton University).

As a result of the application of a tax treaty, a nonresident alien may be eligible to claim exemption
from, or a reduced rate for, withholding on certain types of income including:

• Employee
  Compensation Payments (service income)
• Scholarship and/or Fellowship Payments (non service income)

A nonresident alien must meet eligibility requirements based on IRS regulations and University administrative procedures to claim exemption from withholding.

An individual must have a tax identification number or a social security number to apply for a tax treaty benefit.

We use the software program called the Glacier System to assist you in determining your eligibility for treaty benefits and preparing the forms required to apply for exemption.

All non resident aliens receiving payments from Princeton University are required to file a federal tax return. You can do so by accessing the CINTAX system through the Glacier portal during the tax season. The CINTAX software will assist you in determining what forms you need to file based on how you answer the questions the information you enter from your tax statements.

Even if you did not earn any income in the U.S. during the year, you are required to file a Form 8843, recording your presence in the U.S. CINTAX, accessed through the Glacier portal, will assist you in preparing this form and determining what other forms you need to file based on how you answer the questions.

CINTAX software, accessed through the Glacier portal, will assist you in determining what forms you need to file and where to file based on your responses.

The deadline for filing Forms 1040 and 1040NR is April 15th (or the following business day). Forms must be postmarked by this date. They need not be delivered to the IRS by this date.

On April 15th many post offices are open later than normal. You can call your local post office to check for extended hours. The number for the post office in Palmer Square, Princeton, NJ is (609) 921-9563.

In order to prove what date you mailed the form to the IRS, proof of mailing should be retained by you.

Employers and universities are required to report wages, scholarships, and taxes withheld from your paycheck to the IRS. The employers send statements for wages to individuals by January 31st (W-2 form) and taxable scholarships and fellowships paid to nonresident aliens by March 15th (1042-S form) every year.

The amount of taxable scholarships and fellowships paid to resident aliens are not included on these forms. It is your responsibility to account for and report this income to the IRS.

The W-2 form reports wages earned and any taxes the employer has withheld from the payments made to you for federal or state taxes. If you received this type of income, you should receive this form by January 31st of the following year.

Undergraduate W2 forms are mailed to the individual’s Frist mailbox. Employee, faculty and graduate student W2 forms are mailed to the individuals department. Departments are responsible to forward any tax statements to individuals who are no longer here.

If you did not earn wages in the U.S. in the calendar year, then you will not be receiving a
W-2. If you did earn wages or received taxable scholarship payments and you have not received one:

• mailing address is incorrect
• you had treaty benefits – did not go over dollar limit, reported on 1042-S
• considered a resident for tax purposes (use your last pay statement-year to date YTD information) for filing purposes

In order to request a duplicate form you must fill out the request called “Request for Duplicate Earnings Statement” form and mail it to the Payroll Office or fax it to (609) 258-1938. Here is the website where you can find this form:
http://web.princeton.edu/sites/TreasurersOffice/PayrollPayablesTax/
Payroll/FormsBackup/Department_Payroll.html .

Remember: In order for Payroll to send you a duplicate form, we need your signature on the request; a relative cannot request the form for you.

A 1042-S reports taxable scholarships/fellowships income and any other payment made to nonresident aliens for which you were not an employee (i.e. NOT wages). It also reports earned income (wages) which are wholly exempt from tax because of a tax treaty between your country of residency and the U.S. If you received this type of income, you should receive this form by March 15th of the following year.

Undergraduate 1042-S forms are mailed to the individual’s Frist mailbox. Employee, faculty and graduate student 1042-S forms are mailed to the individual’s department.

If you did not receive the types of income listed above in the calendar year, you will not receive a Form 1042-S.

You should have received a 1042-S form, if you:

• Received taxable fellowship/scholarship income
• The income was not taxable due to treaty benefits

If you need a 1042-S form and did not receive one:

• You will need to fill out a “Request for Duplicate Earnings Statement” form and mail it to the Payroll Office
• Fax it to (609) 258-1938

Here is the website where you can find this form: http://web.princeton.edu/sites/TreasurersOffice/PayrollPayablesTax/
Payroll/FormsBackup/Department_Payroll.html

Remember: In order for Payroll to send you a duplicate form, we need your signature on the request; a relative cannot request the form for you.

Yes. Withholding is required on scholarship/fellowship payments made to nonresident
aliens, unless the payment qualifies as a non-taxable scholarship or fellowship,
or is excludable under a tax treaty. Form W-8BEN must be filed to claim
NRA tax status for scholarships or fellowships. The Glacier System will assist you in determining treaty eligibility and produce the form on your behalf based upon the facts you provide.

Standard Withholding Rates for Nonresident Aliens
Wages/Employment Compensation (Absent Treaty Eligibility)

• Wages are taxed at graduated rates

Taxable Scholarships/Fellowships

• F, J, M, and Q visas - 14% tax rate

• Other Visas - 30% tax rate

Honoraria, Independent Contractor Payments, Royalties, Awards, Prizes and other
payments

• 30% tax rate

Visa Types	FICA
F-1	Exempt for the first 5 years from original date of entry.
J-1 Students	Exempt for the first 5 years from original date of entry.
J-1 Scholars, Researchers	Exempt for either the first 2 calendar years from original date of entry in the US, or 2 of the current and past 6 calendar years, a total of seven year period in the US regardless of visa status.
H-1B, O-1	Must pay FICA.
H4	Must pay FICA.

You must file an NRA W-4 form to declare your federal tax withholding status.
When completing the NRA W-4, you (Glacier will assist you in preparing this form):

• May not claim “Married”
• May not claim “Exempt”
• May not claim more than “01” allowance (unless you are a resident of
  Canada, Mexico, in which case you may
  claim any number of allowances.)
• Must write Nonresident Alien on line six

If you are exempt due to a tax treaty (which Glacier will assist you in determining),
you must also submit forms generated by Glacier, current copies of your visa
documents,
Form 8233 and/or W8BEN to allow Princeton University to report you as “exempt”
from Federal Income Tax.

Form 8233 is used to claim “exempt” from federal withholding on certain earnings eligible for exclusion by certain tax treaties from treaty countries. Glacier will assist you in determining whether the form is required as well as the preparation of the form. You should submit a Form 8233 as soon as possible but no later than 30 days prior to the receipt of income. In order to use the form to claim treaty benefits, you must have a Social Security Number or Individual Tax Identification Number. Form 8233 must be provided to withholding agents on an annual basis. In order for us to process your Forms 8233 effective January 1st of the following year, we must receive a completed Form 8233 no later than December 1st. If Form 8233 is not submitted by December 1st, you may be subject to the maximum amount of withholding effective January 1 (and will continue until such time as the Form 8233 is processed).

Princeton University provides you access to a software package called the Glacier System to assist you in determining treaty eligibility and completing the required forms to claim exemption from withholding. The system can assist you in providing personalized treaty forms and attachment(s) for each eligible student/employee.

A “Revenue Procedure Letter” (RPL) is a supporting statement (treaty attachment)
to the Form 8233 and is required by the IRS for most, but not all, tax treaties. The
RPL is a series of statements dictated by the IRS used in justifying your eligibility for
exemption from federal tax withholding. If the tax treaty of your country of residence
requires an RPL, you must sign the RPL and submit it along with Form 8233. If you
cannot complete the RPL because the statements on the RPL do not apply, then you
cannot claim benefits from the tax treaty provisions. The Glacier Systemwill assist
you in preparing the RPL.

The W-4 form is required when the tax treaty provisions expire, or are not applicable.
Payroll will begin withholding on payments you receive per the W-4 on file according
to the type of earnings you are receiving. The Glacier System will assist you in preparing Form W-4.

Like wages, some tax treaties also exempt monies paid via scholarships and/or
fellowships. For further details, go to the IRS web site , and see IRS Publications
515, 519, and 901.

See IRS Publication 901 . For further questions, go to the IRS web site , or
call the toll free number: 1-800-829-1040.

We report the taxable income received by nonresident aliens as well as income
which is exempt from taxation due to treaty benefits to the IRS. We do so using
the same Forms W-2 and 1042-S which you will receive a copy of.

For resident aliens, we are not required to report taxable Fellowship/Scholarship
income to the IRS. It is your responsibility to report this income to the IRS, along
with other forms of taxable income. Please keep your final pay stub of the calendar
year as your record containing the information needed for reporting purposes.

We do not report wages or scholarships paid by the university to your home country.

The Tax Summary Report (produced by the Glacier System) is an information form Payroll requires to ensure that you are reported and taxed correctly. You have to submit a Tax Summary Report with copies of your documents when you are hired or rehired,
whenever you change visa types, whenever you change job types and update any
information in Glacier that affect the Tax Summary Report or at least once every
calendar year.

Form W-8BEN “Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States
Tax Withholding” is a form filed by nonresident aliens receiving a fellowship/scholarship income, or Independent Foreign Contractors not associated with the USA from treaty countries that cover exemption from federal taxes. The Glacier System will assist you in determining whether this form is required to claim treaty benefits, as well as in completing the form.

Form W-9 is a tax document used by resident aliens to provide a SSN
or ITIN to the university.
The Glacier system will assist you in preparing the Form W-9,
based upon the information you enter in the system.

As a non-resident you may have received one or more types of 1042S forms for
several reasons. You may have received wage earnings that were treaty exempted
and some fellowship that were not treaty exempted. You will receive a separate
1042S form for each combination of country and income code being reported.

Federal W-2 forms are sent out every year no later than January 31st and Federal
Form 1042S forms are sent out no later than March 15. Both of these forms for active employees/students are mailed to their departments who are instructed to distribute
or to forward to them by these dates if they are not currently in the department.
Terminated or inactive employees/students forms are sent to the home address on file.

If you are a non-resident of the USA, Princeton University has a software system
called CINTAX available to you (via the Glacier system) free of charge to use to
help you to file your income tax return. You are not required to use this system and
may file manually or use another system if you choose to not to use this system.