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Life In The Usa As A Student. - Travel (5) - Nairaland

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General U.s.a (student) Visa Enquiries-part 8 / General U.s.a (student) Visa Enquiries-part 7 / General U.s.a (student) Visa Enquiries-part 6 (2) (3) (4)

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Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by dayokanu(m): 6:20pm On Feb 07, 2012
Elpieda:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH LMAO, How did you know

"Aint nothing wrong with doing the cycling thing" *with my country Texan Accent*

I followed you to Abilene na. I have been waiting for you to finish so you can come join me here.

When do you graduate?
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by GboyegaD(m): 6:23pm On Feb 07, 2012
davidylan:

1. If you are still filing taxes as an international student then you should get the 1040NR-EZ form in the mail. Or your international student office would usually have a service where you can do your taxes. Its pretty simple. I think Glacier compliance tax system was what we used - ask your ISO.

2. If you are now filing as a resident, then go to www.thepiratebay.org - download a copy of the federal+state 2011 turbotax software (or buy at walmart for $40). Easy to fill by yourself on the computer and it e-files for you for free. You pay $20 to e-file for state.

I got my W2 in my mail box however, it did not state anything about the EIC. Do you have an idea on how to go about that
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by Elpieda: 6:29pm On Feb 07, 2012
Concerning filing taxes, I think I need to break this down so every international student can learn and not make the same mistake most people are making.

1) If you come into the United States on an F-1 visa, you are a non-resident for tax purposes and you are to file the form 1040 NR-EZ. This is the form you are to file for the first five years of you being on a student visa including when you are on an OPT.  Obviously, filing a form 1040 NR-EZ does not get you much of a refund as a regular 1040 that residents file but please don't get tempted to file the wrong form (1040) because it usually has repercussions if you intend to become a permanent resident down the line. Please feel free to ask me more concerning taxes and I can help to the best of my ability. I have been doing this for a while,

2)Concerning softwares for filing taxes, Glacier is a good one and usually, most schools already purchase a certain number of licenses with the company to help their international students file their taxes. But if you are on an OPT, you can still purchase an individual license with the company for $39 I think. Personally I dont think you need to pay that much. There is a website called www.visataxes.com that has a wealth of info for internationals students and taxes. They aslo have a free 1040 NR-EZ software which you can use to prepare your taxes.

3) Even if you did not make any income in one particular year, you still need to go ahead and fill out Form 8843 and mail it to the IRS center in Austin so that your information can always be up to date in their database,

There is so much more information on filing taxes for international students, So feel free to ask questions,

7 Likes 2 Shares

Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by Basilona(m): 6:32pm On Feb 07, 2012
This is d best THREAD ever!!! kudoz 2 d OP and all d Contributorz. I had a lot of fun reading through every post. It waz informative and had a lot of humour in it (some albeit unintended). Some of the stories were scary and encouraging @ the same time.
I have planz to study in the US, although @ a community college. I plan to uze dis thread az my guide. Phenx xo much guyz.
PS: Also, I cant help but wish Father waz a thieving politician az it would better my chances (God forgive me)
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by Elpieda: 6:32pm On Feb 07, 2012
dayokanu:

I followed you to Abilene na. I have been waiting for you to finish so you can come join me here.

When do you graduate?

Lol if you followed me to Abilene then you should know I have graduated since tete lol, So you are in McKinney, carry go, na u dey enjoy pass
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by GboyegaD(m): 6:36pm On Feb 07, 2012
dayokanu:

I followed you to Abilene na. I have been waiting for you to finish so you can come join me here.

When do you graduate?

Are you still based in McKinney

Basilona:

This is d best THREAD ever!!! kudoz 2 d OP and all d Contributorz. I had a lot of fun reading through every post. It waz informative and had a lot of humour in it (some albeit unintended). Some of the stories were scary and encouraging @ the same time.
I have planz to study in the US, although @ a community college. I plan to uze dis thread az my guide. Phenx xo much guyz.
PS: Also, I cant help but wish Father waz a thieving politician az it would better my chances (God forgive me)

Basilona, have we changed s to z in Nigeriabecause I am at a loss with your post.
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by dayokanu(m): 6:38pm On Feb 07, 2012
^^ Still in DFW but not in McKinney

So Gboyega and Elpieda where una dey now?

1 Like

Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by KayDee4: 6:40pm On Feb 07, 2012
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about, its very complicated and you might just miss out on a lot of things. If different agencies do your taxes for you, they'll all come up with different figures. One of them might include something the other omitted or something you never knew about.

One more useful tip. I.D theft is a big big issue. Guard your SSN with  all  your heart, be careful about how you expose it, where you write it down and how you store it for reference; never give it out to unknown callers on phone, sometimes they pretend to be from your phone company or bank customer servivce. Shred receipts that contain your name and last 4 digits of your card don't just throw it into the bin, also keep you D.O.B and e-mail address safe from strangers.

5 Likes 1 Share

Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by GboyegaD(m): 6:41pm On Feb 07, 2012
dayokanu:

^^ Still in DFW but not in McKinney

So Gboyega and Elpieda where una dey now?

I am in Denton.
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by KayDee4: 6:42pm On Feb 07, 2012
OK, Elpieda, just saw your post.
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by femo2000(m): 7:17pm On Feb 07, 2012
Hello Guys, with the help of information I got on Nairaland I got my F1-visa.

I av not filed any taxes since I came, I thought I did not need to file since I dont have SSN yet, please what what do I need to do, and what do I benefit from it Financially. e.t.c
as it is on the record I have not worked throughout my stay. but sha I dey work oo, I'm paid cash (man must survive) wink


I got my post completion OPT card recently and will be effective march 1st. so I'm just about to go to Social Security aministration to get my SSN.
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by femo2000(m): 7:35pm On Feb 07, 2012
Also I have this uncle who wants to claim me in his taxes, but I have not consented yet. I'm still waiting to get my SSN. Is it advisable for him to claim me? the SSN I'm about to get it my first and thats because I'm going to be on OPT soon.
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by Basilona(m): 7:38pm On Feb 07, 2012
Basilona, have we changed s to z in Nigeriabecause I am at a loss with your post. grin grin
Bro, no mind me joor. I blame it on spending 2 much time on social appz. OOpz! Sorry, i meant app(s) wink grin cheesy
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by Basilona(m): 7:45pm On Feb 07, 2012
Basilona, have we changed s to z in Nigeriabecause I am at a loss with your post.
Don't mind me Bro. I blame it on spending too much tyme using social appz. oopz! I meant to say app(s) grin grin
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by Nobody: 7:49pm On Feb 07, 2012
GboyegaD:

I got my W2 in my mail box however, it did not state anything about the EIC. Do you have an idea on how to go about that

Is that earned income credit? If it is you are not eligible for that as an international student.

femo2000:

Hello Guys, with the help of information I got on Nairaland I got my F1-visa.

I av not filed any taxes since I came, I thought I did not need to file since I dont have SSN yet, please what what do I need to do, and what do I benefit from it Financially. e.t.c
as it is on the record I have not worked throughout my stay. but sha I dey work oo, I'm paid cash (man must survive) wink


I got my post completion OPT card recently and will be effective march 1st. so I'm just about to go to Social Security aministration to get my SSN.


1. Did you recieve income from the school in the form of grants, fellowships, scholarships?
2. Did you perform any paid work at any time? your employer would have reported this to the IRS. I suppose you didnt since you dont have an SSN. IF you did under the table work pain in cash then no wahala.

If you answered yes to 1. above, my guy why you no file ya taxes? You can do so without an SSN, you only need an ITIN for tax purposes.

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Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by Nobody: 7:51pm On Feb 07, 2012
femo2000:

Also I have this uncle who wants to claim me in his taxes, but I have not consented yet. I'm still waiting to get my SSN. Is it advisable for him to claim me? the SSN I'm about to get it my first and thats because I'm going to be on OPT soon.

Abeg no do am oh! You have your own future to worry about, dont let someone put you in trouble. The day the IRS audits the guy na that day una go enter fire. One thing i have learnt is that here in the US, NOTHING is ever forgotten. Even if it takes 20yrs, the law will still catch up with you should you run foul of it.
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by Nobody: 7:52pm On Feb 07, 2012
Basilona:

This is d best THREAD ever!!! kudoz 2 d OP and all d Contributorz. I had a lot of fun reading through every post. It waz informative and had a lot of humour in it (some albeit unintended). Some of the stories were scary and encouraging @ the same time.
I have planz to study in the US, although @ a community college. I plan to uze dis thread az my guide. Phenx xo much guyz.
PS: Also, I cant help but wish Father waz a thieving politician az it would better my chances (God forgive me)

think am well my brother. embassy go bounce you.
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by FutureDon(m): 7:58pm On Feb 07, 2012
Basilona:

Basilona, have we changed s to z in Nigeriabecause I am at a loss with your post.
Don't mind me Bro. I blame it on spending too much tyme using social appz. oopz! I meant to say app(s) grin grin

Please don't get addicted to it, it's a bad writing habit. I always come across such, whenever I'm marking my students' exam papers. My one cent.  smiley

1 Like

Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by gongoaso1: 8:17pm On Feb 07, 2012
davidylan:

Is that earned income credit? If it is you are not eligible for that as an international student.

1. Did you recieve income from the school in the form of grants, fellowships, scholarships?
2. Did you perform any paid work at any time? your employer would have reported this to the IRS. I suppose you didnt since you dont have an SSN. IF you did under the table work pain in cash then no wahala.

If you answered yes to 1. above, my guy why you no file ya taxes? You can do so without an SSN, you only need an ITIN for tax purposes.

Not sure about that though, but when I was a student, my later years I got the EIC. Provided your income is less than a certain amount, then I believe you should claim it.
Turbotax is a very good software to use. Guides you like a GPS and advises you too.

You are very right about grants, fellowships and scholarships being counted as income too, and may have been taxed which you should claim in your tax returns.

2 Likes 1 Share

Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by Elpieda: 8:40pm On Feb 07, 2012
Femo 200, Davidylan has answered you well,

Gongo Aso, it is most likely you have been filing the wrong tax returns in your earlier years if you were on an F1 visa. The IRS usually doesnt catch it but then it will come up sometime in the future, I think the only time it may pose a problem if you filed the wrong tax returns is if you ever try to become a perm resident, THey will ask you if you filed your taxes and and they will ask you if you filed the correct tax forms, THey also verify with the IRS during that process.

Turbo tax files 1040s and almost every other free software (HR block, etc), It is ok to file a 1040 if you are a resident for tax purposes. But if you are a non resident for tax purposes you MUST file 1040NR-EZ,
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by Nobody: 8:54pm On Feb 07, 2012
gongo aso:

Not sure about that though, but when I was a student, my later years I got the EIC. Provided your income is less than a certain amount, then I believe you should claim it.
Turbotax is a very good software to use. Guides you like a GPS and advises you too.

You are very right about grants, fellowships and scholarships being counted as income too, and may have been taxed which you should claim in your tax returns.


If you were not filing as a resident alien for tax purposes as elpieda said, then my guy you are guilty of "defrauding" the IRS. Better pray they dont find out.
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by obowunmi(m): 9:03pm On Feb 07, 2012
@ imperiouxx: seriously learning to barb ur own hair helps. You can even charge other people if ure good. (Business idea)

What I did was charge lower than regular area price and I was good. People bring their own clippers and u cut and do shape ups.

My used my brothers as practice sha,
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by gongoaso1: 10:00pm On Feb 07, 2012
Well Uncle Sam will  be very aiite, its not everyone hell bent on Perm. Residency tongue
Meanwhile I know of many Int'l students who do not file 1040 NR-EZ. Many are not even aware of the existence of that form as it is not mailed out with the W2. Anyways each to thier own. Turbotax gives you EIC when you answer a few questions as it applies to your situation.
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by Nobody: 11:19pm On Feb 07, 2012
Good one folks.

But make una take am easy with all those stews and beans oo; too much of it dey wound person ooooo. Some vegetables can suffice every now and then. Prevention is better than cure broses dem. In fact, there are lots of business ideas that can make you live large in Yankee as a student. Just open your eyes and understand how the economy works. Besides, what happened to autodidact-ism?


dayokanu:

^^ Still in DFW but not in McKinney

So Gboyega and Elpieda where una dey now?

Say hi to your lovely trailer trash neighbours we drank some beer with the other day cheesy.
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by imperiouxx(m): 11:30pm On Feb 07, 2012
@obo,

Thanks, I've gotta learn more skills then.

@others on tax,

I was told about tax when I went to do payroll deduction yesterday. Can someone give me the step down on how to go about it and which won't cause me headache in the nearest future. Is it the school that starts the process or I get it done myself like that of student health insurance. Thanks
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by Nobody: 11:34pm On Feb 07, 2012
imperiouxx:

@obo,

Thanks, I've gotta learn more skills then.

@others on tax,

I was told about tax when I went to do payroll deduction yesterday. Can someone give me the step down on how to go about it and which won't cause me headache in the nearest future. Is it the school that starts the process or I get it done myself like that of student health insurance. Thanks

you just came, you wont need to file taxes until next yr. Relax.

1 Like

Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by logic101: 11:39pm On Feb 07, 2012
This thread is being derailed from the original topic .
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by imperiouxx(m): 11:50pm On Feb 07, 2012
davidylan:

you just came, you wont need to file taxes until next yr. Relax.

I'm acting according to what I was told by school about SSN and this tax. May be they deduct it themselves then?
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by obowunmi(m): 6:50am On Feb 08, 2012
"keeping quiet in American culture is admission of knowing nothing about subject of discussion,"

Bayoooo, you are a sociologist. All you've said makes sense. YOLO!
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by BlackPikiN(m): 6:59am On Feb 08, 2012
Make I gist concerning babes.


If you go date or wan toast babe, no go make mistake carry girl wey be 18-20yrs old.
If she says 18-20, better confirm am welli well before you shine congo.

Inshort avoid them like plague cos most of them dey lie about their age.

Na them dey land people for trouble.
Re: Life In The Usa As A Student. by phy: 7:58am On Feb 08, 2012
Nice thread!

Please lets include internship and job opportunities.

Cheers

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