Employment, SSN & ITIN

If you are an international student studying in the US, you have the opportunity to work part-time but remember that you are restricted by the terms of your visa. It is a MUST that you know all the requirements and restrictions concerning your visa!

There are several categories of employment during the term of your stay as an F1 student in the United States. On-campus employment is the most freely available, and then there are three categories of off-campus employment, which you can only have after you finish the first full year as a student:

• Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
• Optional Practical Training (OPT) (pre-completion or post-completion)
• STEM Optional Practical Training Extension (OPT)

Additionally, you are allowed to work under special permission outside the campus in cases of severe economic hardship occurring after your enrolment and after you have been in F-1 status for at least one full academic year, or in emergent circumstances as defined by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I am not going to refer to this exception again, as its not applicable to the vast majority of F1 students.

For a Freshmen, these off-campus jobs are generally not applicable, so you are left with finding a job on campus only in your first year!

On-campus employment is defined as employment that provides a paycheck from Purdue University, West Lafayette. Positions include teaching assistantships, research assistantships, some fellowships and hourly employment (FoodServices, Libraries, etc.). International students are not eligible for Work Study positions. On-campus employment includes:

• Work performed on the Purdue’s premises directly for Purdue (including work affiliated with a grant or assistantship).
• Work performed for on-location commercial firms which provide services for students on campus, such as the school bookstores or cafeteria (Employment with on-site commercial firms which do not provide direct student services, such as a construction company building a Purdue building, is not deemed on-campus employment for the purposes of the rule).

On-campus employment is the category most freely permitted by the USCIS regulations, and it does not require USCIS approval. But if you can obtain a job on campus, you may not rely on it to prove financial resources for the year, and often these jobs are not related to your studies. For the F-1 student, the number of work hours each week are restricted as follows:

• Fall/Spring academic semesters: maximum of 20 hours per week.
• Semester breaks, official school/summer vacation: full-time on campus. (Exception: if a student is required to register for summer, such as with a graduate assistantship, only 20 hours per week maximum permitted)

Upon completion of degree, on-campus employment permission ends. Paperwork for on-campus employment is processed by the business office of the employing department/office.

Purdue offers student employment opportunities in areas such as dining and catering, University Residences, Purdue Memorial Union, Recreation and Wellness, and many office jobs throughout the academic departments on campus. To find a job on campus visit: www.purdue.edu/studentemployment.

You need not wait for any period of time before you can begin on-campus employment. In fact, a F-1 student may begin working as much as 30 days before the start of a program of study. You should inform the ISS before they begin work. You can work multiple jobs on campus at the same time as long as the total work hours for all jobs does not exceed 20 hours during the school term. You may work multiple jobs full-time on-campus during those periods when school is not in session or during your annual break.

As a F-1 student, you automatically have permission to work on campus, but you still need to work with the ISS to ensure the job offered qualifies as on-campus employment. You will need certification letters from the ISS and the employer. You must present these letters to officials at the local Social Security Administration office to get a Social Security number.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) assigns a nine-digit Social Security number (SSN) to U.S. citizens, permanent residents and eligible nonimmigrant workers in the United States. SSA uses SSNs to report wages to the government, track Social Security benefits and for other identification purposes. If you have employment, you will need to apply for a SSN. The Social Security Administration (SSA) strongly encourages students to complete an online application in advance and bring their reference number when visiting the SSA. If you don’t have a job then you can’t get a SSN! Per SSA guidance, SSA cannot issue a Social Security number solely for you to open a bank account or get a State Driver’s License.

You don’t need an SSN to begin work. The SSN is for tax purposes only and has absolutely no bearing on your work authorization eligibility. Your employment authorization comes from approved CPT, OPT, AT, or on campus employment. You are not legally required to provide an SSN on your tax withholding paperwork (e.g. I-9, W-4) when you initially complete employment forms. You will need to provide the number or application receipt eventually (typically within 2-3 days of beginning employment), but you can leave any of those spaces on tax forms blank until you get the SSN.

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER REQUEST FORM: Have your department’s business office/payroll center help you send the request form to the ISS office. ISS will then email you when the signed form is ready for pick up. After that, you will need to take the required documents with you to the Social Security Office in downtown Lafayette. The office is located at 10 S.Second St., Lafayette, IN 47901. At this time, they are accepting walk-ins. For your visit to the SSA, you’ll need all of the following documents:

• I-20
• Passport
• Visa
• I-94 record (if you are applying for CPT- then it must be updated and have the relevant authorisation from ISS)
• Address where your Social Security Card can be successfully delivered to you two to six weeks from your application date
• Proof of Employment and work authorisation
  • For On Campus Jobs: employer letter signed by employer and F-1 Social Security Support Letter from ISS above. Original signatures are required on letters.
  • For CPT: I-20 showing CPT work authorization
  • For OPT: I-20 showing OPT recommendation and EAD

Once you apply, SSA will process your application and, if approved, mail you a card containing your unique and permanent Social Security Number (SSN). It can take two to six weeks from the date of application for the card to arrive by mail. After you receive your card, please submit a copy directly to your employer.

Most likely you will receive a Social Security card with the notation, “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION.” SSA issues this type of card to people lawfully admitted to the U.S. on a temporary basis who have authorization to work by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Your SSN is sensitive, personal identification information. It is important to keep it safe and out of the hands of scammers that wish to use it to utilize your identity or credit history.

• Do not carry your Social Security card in your wallet on a daily basis.
• Consider memorizing your SSN and only carry the card when you know it will be needed for a specific purpose.
• Do not type or write your SSN in the body of an email or text message.
• Do not send your SSN or image of your Social Security Card as an email attachment.
• ISS does not need a copy of your Social Security Card and will never ask you for your SSN.

Common scenarios in which your SSN may be requested:

• When an employer is setting up payroll and tax paperwork at a new job.
• When setting up a new bank account, opening a credit card, or applying for a loan.
• When a business needs to check your credit in order to apply for an apartment, sign up for utilities, or get a contract-based mobile phone plan.

It is always a good idea to ask questions before deciding to share your or your dependent’s SSN in-person, on a form, or online, since SSNs are commonly used in identity theft scams.

How to respond to a request for your SSN

• Why do they need your SSN?
• How will your SSN be used?
• How will they protect your SSN and other personal information?
• What happens if you don’t share your SSN?
• Is there other identifying information you can provide in place of the SSN?

If you don’t feel comfortable with the answers to these questions, or you are being asked to share your SSN over public Wi-Fi to a non-encrypted website, it may be best to protect your SSN and not share it.

If you want to read in detail about applying for a SSN from an international student’s perspective, read this from a student of UIUC in nearby Illinois.

For more details in applying for a SSN as a F1 student – click here

An ITIN is a 9-digit number issued by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to individuals who are required for U.S. federal tax purposes to have a U.S. taxpayer identification number, but who do not have and are not eligible to get a Social Security number (SSN). F1 Students may apply for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN) from the IRS if they have a valid tax reason for needing an ITIN as elaborated here. If you already have a SSN, have ever had an SSN, or are eligible to apply for an SSN, you are not eligible to apply for an ITIN. Should you apply for an ITIN now and later get a SSN, this will not cause any problems. You will simply start to use the SSN instead of the ITIN (to file taxes, submit to payroll, etc.) as soon as you receive it.

A F1 Student who is ineligible for a SSN must apply for a ITIN if any of the following occurs:

• Reception of a grant, fellowship or scholarship
• Interest from stock options, lottery or gambling winnings
• Other types of non-wage income

If you did not have US employment, but want to apply for an ITIN.  This is how you can get the NO EMPLOYMENT LETTER FROM PURDUE UNIVERSITY

• Send your NO EMPLOYMENT LETTER request via email to tax@purdue.edu.
  • Include your PUID, full name and current address.
  • A staff member will send the letter via email in 5-7 business days of your request, after 2/15. The letter confirms you had no employment at Purdue. If you had any employment, you were required to obtain and present an SSN to Purdue.

To apply for an ITIN, you must submit

• Form W-7, “Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number”
• A certification letter (with applicant’s full name and SEVIS number)
• Copies of identity and foreign status documentation A copy of the Form I-20,
• “Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status”
• Other required documentation to meet the Form W-7 application requirement.

Please see the IRS Website for additional information.

Contact them at tax@purdue.edu

PROVIDING ASSISTANCE WITH: Your Glacier (international tax paperwork), End of year tax forms and general US and state tax filing information, Answering questions pertaining to the tax withholding on your Purdue paycheck or other Purdue payments.

Purdue University uses the Arctic International “Glacier” software to administer the international tax compliance. If you have any campus employment (job or non-service fellowship), or payments for a taxable scholarship, prize, award or human subject study, you will receive at link from support@online-tax.net to create an account, then submit documents to the Payroll and Tax area. Because of the off-campus and restricted work area, Glacier documents can only be accepted via secure fax, or campus or US mail only; no drop offs are allowed.

More info on US Taxes can be found on my post Filing Taxes – With US Income