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F-1 and M-1 Students: Social Security and Tax Issues
This FAQ contains information for designated school officials (DSOs) to use when counseling F and M students concerning Social Security and tax issues. If you are unfamiliar with any of the terms or acronyms used, consult the glossary.
1. Social Security Issues for Students1.2. Do all nonimmigrant students need Social Security numbers?
1.3. Employed students
1.3.2. Do nonimmigrant students who are authorized employment need to have their Social Security cards prior to starting work or receiving a paycheck?
1.3.3. How does SSA verify that a nonimmigrant has legally entered?
1.3.4. What can DSOs and students do to improve the students' chances of being issued Social Security numbers?
1.3.5. Do nonimmigrant students have to pay Social Security taxes on their wages?
1.3.6. Does the Social Security card for a nonimmigrant student look different than that for a U.S. citizen?
1.3.7. Can nonimmigrant students get supplemental security income?
1.4. Students without employment
1.4.2. What if a federal or state agency requires a Social Security number?
1.4.3. What do students do if a business or organization requires a Social Security number in order to provide services?
1.4.4. If students cannot get Social Security numbers, can they get individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITIN) instead?
2. Security Issues for F-2 and M-2 Dependents
2.2. Do the F-2 or M-2 dependents of a nonimmigrant student need a Social Security number?
2.3. What if a federal or state agency requires a Social Security number?
3. Problems with Social Security Accounts
3.2. Who do I contact if one of my students is having a problem getting a Social Security card?
3.3. Is there anything, long-term, that DSOs can do to help students avoid data discrepancies?
3.4. I have a student whose file needs a data fix. Until the data fix is complete, I cannot issue a Form I-20. With no Form I-20, there is no document to complete list C on the Form I-9. What should I do?
4. Tax Issues for Nonimmigrant Students
4.2. Are nonimmigrant students required to file U.S. income tax forms?
4.3. Are there special income tax rules for nonimmigrant students?
4.4. Where do I find a Form 1040NR, 1040NR-EZ, or IRS Form 8843?
1. Social Security Issues for Students
1.1. Are nonimmigrant students allowed to work?
1.2. Do all nonimmigrant students need Social Security numbers?
1.3.1. How do nonimmigrant students get Social Security cards?
For on-campus employment, you will need to provide students with a letter (sample letter in pdf format) that:
- Specifically identifies the specific student as the applicant
- Indicates that this student meets all work requirements
- Contains your name and telephone number
- Describes the nature of the employment
- Identifies the employer
Students must file a Form SS-5. See http://www.ssa.gov/online/ss-5.html for a copy of the form and filing information.
For more information, see International Students And Social Security Numbers, SSA Publication No. 05-10181, December 2005 http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10181.html.
See the SSA online guide, Employer Responsibilities When Hiring Foreign Workers, at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/hiring.htm.
Advise applicants to get letters verifying their pending SSN application from the SSA official. Presenting these letters to employers enables the applicant to begin employment immediately and get paid without delay. You can let students know to refer employers to the FAQ for employers of nonimmigrant students.
1.3.3. How does SSA verify that a nonimmigrant legally entered the United States?
Step 2: When your prospective Social Security number applicants report to you for the term or program, you need to activate their SEVIS records as soon as possible. This ensures that SEVIS can be used, if needed, to verify the applicant's current immigration status. Applicants should wait 48 hours after you've activated their records before submitting Social Security number applications. Ensure the data in SEVIS is accurate and matches that on other documents. See the FAQ on Eliminating Data Discrepancies.
Step 3: Make sure applicants wait at least 10 days from arrival into the United States before applying for their Social Security number to allow time for necessary arrival data to be uploaded in VIS.
Step 4: Make sure students have all the required documentation when they go to the SSA office. See International Students And Social Security Numbers, SSA Publication No. 05-10181, December 2005 http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10181.html for details. This includes recent changes pertaining to on-campus employment for F-1 students.
Step 5: Advise applicants to ask for letters from the SSA official acknowledging that they filed an SSN application. Presenting these letters to employers may better enable applicants to begin employment immediately and get paid without delay.
Step 6: Discourage applications for invalid reasons. Authorized employment is almost always the basis for assignment of a Social Security number. See the section below on students without employment for suggestions on how to handle Social Security number related issues for these students.
1.3.5. Do nonimmigrant students have to pay Social Security taxes on their wages?
- Are allowed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for F and M nonimmigrants
- Are performed to carry out the purposes for which the visas were issued
- On-campus student employment up to 20 hours a week (40 hours during summer vacations)
- Off-campus student employment allowed by USCIS
- Practical training, on or off campus
- Employment as a professor, teacher or researcher
- Employment as a physician, au pair, or summer camp worker
- Unauthorized employment
- Employment not closely connected to the student's academic program
- Students that change to an immigration status which is not exempt or to a special protected status
- Nonimmigrant students who become resident aliens
This information comes from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website on Alien Liability for Social Security and Medicare Taxes.
For more information, see: http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10002.html.
1.3.7. Can nonimmigrant students get supplemental security income?
1.4. Students without employment
1.4.1. Can nonimmigrant students get a Social Security number for reasons other than employment?
For suggestions on how to handle requests for Social Security numbers for nonimmigrant-work reasons see, What do students do if a business or organization requires a Social Security number in order to provide services?
For more information see:
- International Students And Social Security Numbers, SSA Publication No. 05-10181, December 2005 http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10181.html.
- Question 83 from Social Security Online, How do non-working legal aliens get a Social Security number?http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=83.
- Social Security Numbers for Noncitizens, SSA Publication 05-10096, December 2005, at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10096.pdf.
1.4.2. What if a federal or state agency requires a Social Security number?
If you do not have permission to work, you may apply for a Social Security number only if:
- A federal law requires you to provide your Social Security number to get a particular benefit or service; or
- A state or local law requires you to provide your Social Security number to get general assistance benefits that you already have qualified for.
- Specifically identify you as the applicant;
- Cite the law requiring you to have a Social Security number;
- Indicate that you meet all the agency’s requirements, except having the number; and
- Contain an agency contact name and telephone number. If you are assigned a number for non-work purposes, you cannot use it to work. If you use it to work, we will inform DHS.
1.4.3. What do students do if a business or organization requires a Social Security number in order to provide services?
See Question 83 from Social Security Online, How do non-working legal aliens get a Social Security number? http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=83. This makes it clear that, "You do not need a Social Security number to conduct business with a bank, register for school, apply for educational tests, obtain private health insurance, apply for school lunch programs or apply for subsidized housing. You cannot get a Social Security number for the sole purpose of obtaining a driver license."
For banks, landlords, and other organizations who ask for a Social Security number, some schools have found it effective to write a letter on school letterhead for the student, giving the student's full name, address, program start date, and the program end date. The letter explains that SSA will not issue a Social Security number for nonimmigrant students who do not have work authorization. It suggests that the business accept the student's passport, Form I-20, and/or Form I-94 as an alternate form of identity.
The sample letter (PDF) is only a suggested format and schools may modify this letter to fit their needs.
For more information on the ITIN see:
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10096.html#taxpurposes and
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=129246,00.html
2. Security Issues for F-2 and M-2 Dependents
2.1. Can the dependents of a nonimmigrant student be employed?
2.2. Do the F-2 or M-2 dependents of a nonimmigrant student need a Social Security number?
2.3. What if a federal or state agency requires a Social Security number?
If you do not have permission to work, you may apply for a Social Security number only if:
- A federal law requires you to provide your Social Security number to get a particular benefit or service; or
- A state or local law requires you to provide your Social Security number to get general assistance benefits that you already have qualified for.
- Specifically identify you as the applicant;
- Cite the law requiring you to have a Social Security number;
- Indicate that you meet all the agency’s requirements, except having the number; and
- Contain an agency contact name and telephone number. If you are assigned a number for non-work purposes, you cannot use it to work. If you use it to work, we will inform DHS.
3. Problems with Social Security Accounts
3.1. Where can I refer my nonimmigrant students who have problems with Social Security payments?
Where does my student
find: |
|
General information on
Social Security for nonimmigrant students |
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10181.html |
If Social Security payments are being input correctly |
http://www.ssa.gov/mystatement/ for information on how to access their account |
How to get a refund for
Social Security or Medicare paid in error |
http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq-kw196.html |
Where to report changes
of immigration status |
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10002.html#immigration |
How to replace a Social
Security card with an error |
http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php ?%3C?%20print(%22p_sid=$p_sid&p_lva=$p_lva&p_li=$p_li%22) %20?%3E&p_faqid=330&p_created=959901604 |
What to do for name
changes |
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10002.html#identity |
How to replace a lost
or stolen Social Security card |
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10002.html#lost |
3.2. Who do I contact if one of my students is having a problem getting a Social Security card?
- Applicant's family name, first name, SEVIS ID#, date of birth, and most recent I-94 number
- Applicant's contact information (include mailing address and telephone number)
- Specific SSA office where the application was submitted and the submission date
- A brief description of the problem
3.3. Is there anything, long-term, that DSOs can do to help students avoid data discrepancies?
In the meantime, the student can use their most current Form I-20 along with a letter from you explaining that the student is currently in status and that a more up-to-date Form I-20 will be furnished upon completion of the data fix.
4. Tax Issues for Nonimmigrant Students
4.1. Where can I find more information about U.S. income taxes for nonimmigrant students?
4.2. Are nonimmigrant students required to file U.S. income tax forms?
- A scholarship or fellowship, which is not partially or totally a Tax Free Scholarship or Fellowship as defined by the IRS
- Income partially or totally exempt from tax under the terms of a tax treaty; and/or
- Any other income, which is taxable under the Internal Revenue Code.
See the IRS Web site at http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=129239,00.html for more information.
4.3. Are there special income tax rules for nonimmigrant students?
However, there is an exception available to students if they:
- Do not intend to reside permanently in the United States
- Have substantially complied with the immigration laws and requirements relating to their student nonimmigrant status
- Have not taken any steps to change their nonimmigrant status in the United States to become a permanent resident of the United States; and
- Have a closer connection to another country than to the United States
To claim the exception for students on an income tax return, students should attach Form 8843 to their Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ along with an attachment explaining their eligibility for the closer connection exception. See http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=129255,00.html for more information.
4.4. Where do I find a Form 1040NR, 1040NR-EZ, or IRS Form 8843?