Announcements from the OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT & SCHOLAR SERVICES (OISSS)

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Tax Return Filing Season is Upon Us!

All international students in F-1 or J-1 status must file a U.S. income tax return each year, even if the student did not work in the U.S. in the tax filing year. Non-resident students without employment must complete Form 8843. Students who were employed or who have received scholarship/fellowship income in the U.S. during 2024 must complete both a federal return and applicable state return(s).

The tax return filing deadline for the 2024 tax year is Monday, April 15, 2025.

Information on the annual income tax return filing can be found on the OISSS website. Take some time now to gather your 2024 income tax summary statements (W-2, and/or 1042-S, and/or 1099 etc) and follow the instructions on the OISSS website.

Additionally, please view the Income Tax Preparation Resources for further information on filing your annual U.S. Federal and State income taxes.

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SPRINTAX-Returns Webinar Recording

SPRINTAX-Returns recently gave a U.S. Non-Resident Federal and State Income Tax Preparation Webinar for Brown University on March 4th 2025. If you missed the event, you can still register for it to receive a video of the recording, or you can register for one of their upcoming Income Tax Preparation webinars. 

See the Sprintax-Returns Webinar Schedule. 

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Guidance for Traveling Abroad and within the U.S. 

March 13th, 12:00PM - 1:00PM

Traveling—whether for the upcoming break or returning home, comes with important considerations, especially as regulations and policies evolve, both in the U.S. and internationally. Representatives from the new Brown Travel Office will share expert advice on and resources for travel planning, and provide up-to-date guidance on recent travel changes in the U.S. and beyond. This session is open to students, faculty and staff. RSVP here.

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Check Your Travel Signature 

If you will be traveling outside the U.S. over Spring Break, please check the travel signature on page 2 of your I-20 (J-1 students can find their travel signature on page 1 of their DS-2019). Travel signatures are valid for 1 year (6 months on post-completion OPT) and can be used multiple times before they expire. 

Request a travel signature through your OISSS Gateway Portal if the travel signature has expired. Click on the “Requests & Documents” tab and submit the Reprint/Travel Signature Request to have a new I-20 or DS-2019 with travel signature issued. For further information about travel, please review this webpage: https://oisss.brown.edu/traveling/what-bring-when-traveling  

When entering the U.S., you must present a printed I-20/DS-2019, along with a valid passport with unexpired F-1/J-1 visa to a U.S. customs officer to be admitted to the U.S. in F-1/J-1 status. DO NOT use a nexus or global entry self-check kiosk to enter the U.S. Upon re-entry to the U.S., check your most recent I-94 arrival record to confirm that you have been re-admitted in F-1/J-1 status.

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Reminder for Graduating F-1 Students: Apply for OPT 

If you will be completing your degree program this May and you plan to work in the U.S., now is the time to apply for post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT)! It’s a good idea to apply as early as possible since it can take 3+ months for USCIS to approve applications. Please find instructions outlined here: brown.edu/go/optapply

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Reminder: Complete Sprintax Calculus at the start of each calendar year

This is a requirement to ensure that your payments for each calendar year are being taxed and reported correctly based on your tax status for the current year. If not completed in a timely manner, it may cause complications with your Annual Tax Returns

Income Code Recommendations:  Under Tax Forms Tab  

Undergraduates/Graduates/Masters - recommended income codes to select are income code 16, income code 20, income code 23

Postdocs - recommended income code to select is income code 19

Faculty - recommended income codes to select are income code 18, income code 19

More information and instructions are available here: https://oisss.brown.edu/working-and-living/taxes/sprintax-calculus-instructions 

For questions or assistance, please email foreignnationaltax@brown.edu 

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Immigration Attorney Presentation on  April 17th
Thursday, April 17th 3:00PM-5:00PM
Immigration attorney Elizabeth Goss will provide a virtual informational session, geared toward students and scholars, on nonimmigrant employment with special emphasis on visa options after optional practical training (F-1) or academic training (J-1). Ms. Goss will discuss various types of working visas and applicable filing requirements, and update participants on current H-1B provisions and the petition process for H-1B visas. Other work visas and employment-based permanent residency (green card) will be introduced as well. 

RSVP required to register and submit questions prior to Wednesday, April 16th at 12 noon. The session will be recorded and made available on the OISSS website. 

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Address/Phone Number Reporting

We would like to remind you that as an F-1/J-1 student, you are required to report changes to your U.S. physical (residential) address and U.S. phone number within 10 days of the change.

 Changes should be reported in your Brown University Banner Self Service record. Adding or changing the Local (LO) address in your Brown Banner record will push the address data to your OISSS Gateway portal.

 Undergraduate Students living on campus in the residence halls are exempt from updating their address as on-campus addresses are automatically updated and forwarded to us. However, please provide your cell phone number if you have not already done so.

Undergraduate Students living off campus, and all Graduate Students should list where they are physically residing and should use the USPS tool linked below to make sure the format of the address being entered is USPS compliant: https://tools.usps.com/zip-code-lookup.htm?byaddress

Reminder for students living off campus: Please do not list your department address or your campus mail box. You are required to provide your actual U.S. residential address.

Please make sure that your U.S. phone number (Cell or Local) is listed in your Brown Banner record in the following format without dashes or special characters

ex. [Area Code] _ _ _ (3 digits -  e.g. 401 for Rhode Island)

[Phone Number] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (7 digits) 

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Scam Alert Reminder

For information on common Scam/Fraud related alerts: Be aware of Scams

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