Life in the U.S.

Having a bank account is an essential part of living in the United States. A bank account allows you to safely store your money and withdraw it easily when you need it. Most banks have accounts especially for students that require only a small deposit to be opened and don’t have a monthly or yearly fee. Banks will usually give you a set of checks and a debit card (which acts like a credit card but only allows you to withdraw money you have in your account) when you open your account. Stevens has a special agreement with PNC Bank; visit here for information about its services.

To open a bank account, you will need the following documents:

• Passport with visa stamp

• Form I-20 or DS-2019

After opening your account, there may be a short waiting period before you can access your funds; you should keep some cash on hand to use until your other funds are available.

A driver’s license is commonly used as a form of identification in the United States. If you will not be driving but want an American form of identification, ask for a state ID card instead of a driver’s license; your passport also serves as official identification. If you live in New York and are attending/working at Stevens, you may not be eligible to receive a driver’s license in either New York or New Jersey.

What should I take to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) to get my driver’s license?

You should have the following documents with you when applying for a New Jersey driver’s license, driver’s permit, or state ID card:

• If you have one, a valid international driver’s license. You will not be required to take the driving portion of the test (only the written portion) if you have an international driver’s license.

• Valid passport

• I-94 Record: You can access  the print-out of your electronic I-94 from the CBP website.

• Valid visa document to correspond with non-immigrant status:

  • F-1/F-2: valid I-20

  • J-1/J2: valid DS-2019

  • H1-H4: valid I-797

• Proof of address: bills, checkbook, bank statement, or university letter

• Student ID and proof of enrollment: recent acceptance letter or official transcript

• Social Security Card (if you have one).

  • If you are not eligible for a Social Security card, you may submit signed affidavit from the MVC confirming your ineligibility. The affidavit must be either notarized or signed in front of an MVC agency employee. You must first contact the Social Security Administration to confirm your ineligibility. 

For more information, you can call the Department of Motor Vehicles at 1-888-486-3339, or visit the NJ MVC website.

If someone claiming to be a Department of Homeland Security (DHS), or any other government agency, contacts you by phone, by e-mail, by mail, in person, or otherwise, you should ask for the person's full name, government agency, reporting office, and for a government telephone number to call the person back. Next, contact the ISSS office, and we will provide you with the phone number of the office to which the officer reports. You will then be able to call the agency office to verify the information the person gave you, and to verify that the officer who contacted you needs the information requested. The Department of Homeland Security will never demand money from you over the phone or in person, so if a person tries to intimidate you into given him/her money, this should be an immediate red flag that this is a scam.

You should also be aware that in the U.S., you have rights by U.S. law whenever you are confronted by a federal, state or local law enforcement official. Please review information found on the ACLU website about those rights so that you are prepared for any encounter you may have with a law enforcement official.

Disclaimer: Due to the complexities of U.S. tax law and that each individual's situation is unique, ISSS is unable to assist students regarding tax-related inquiries. ISSS recommends reaching out to a tax-filing professional for assistance.

All international students and scholars have a federal tax filing obligation, even if you do not have a U.S. source of income. If you do not comply with tax obligations, you may encounter complications when applying for a U.S. visa abroad or change of status (H-1B, Green Card, etc.) in the future.

The federal income tax year is from January 1 to December 31. You file your tax return by April 15 of the following year. The two main federal forms that apply to international students and scholars are the Form 8843 (deadline is June 15) and the Form 1040-NR (for all nonimmigrants who work in the U.S., deadline is April 15); each IRS form is filed once per year. You may also be required to file a state tax return as well. In general, F-1 students are considered a non-resident for tax purposes for the first 5 calendar years of your time in the U.S. and only have to report your US-sourced income.

Please be advised that international students, especially if you are a nonresident for tax purposes, cannot use many of the free tax filing programs that are offered to U.S. residents or U.S. Citizens (like TurboTax). Do not commit tax fraud my mistakenly filing a resident tax return.

Student and scholars can file taxes with the assistance of tax filing systems, like Sprintax, which are designed specifically for non-resident tax filing. Sprintax can also help you determine your federal tax residency status and can help you answer your tax questions.

If you need to file an amended tax return (1040X) or missed filing a tax return for a previous year that you were in the U.S., please work with a tax professional.

Resources:

• Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website: Important tax information regarding foreign students and scholars

• Sprintax US Tax Season Survival Guide for F-1 Visa: Detailed blog post outlining the process and documents needed for completing your tax return filing

• Sprintax US Tax Season Survival Guide for J-1 Visa: Detailed blog post outlining the process and documents needed for completing your tax return filing

• Sprintax OPT Student Taxes Explained: Detailed blog post

• Sprintax YouTube: Offers many different videos on tax filing basics

Individuals Without Any Income

As a nonimmigrant, you should file a federal tax form for every year you are in the U.S., even if you did not receive any income. If you did not have any income, the Form 8843 is the only form that you are obligated to file. If you have dependents, each dependent will also need their own 8843, which must be mailed in separate envelopes for each dependent.

Individuals With Income

If you did have U.S. income (CPT work authorization for paid employment, on-campus job, etc.), you will need to file a full nonresident tax return (1040-NR) which will include the Form 8843.

To file state income taxes for work done in New Jersey, visit the State of New Jersey Tax website; to file state income taxes for work done in New York state, visit the State of New York tax website. For any other states, please refer to that state’s web page for the department/division of taxation.