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

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Optional Practical Training (OPT) Filing Fee to Increase as of April 1st

On January 31, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a Final Rule to adjust fees for certain immigration and naturalization benefit applications, effective April 1, 2024. A copy of the full USCIS Final Rule is available here.

As of April 1, 2024:

• Online Filing of Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (F-1 OPT, STEM OPT Extension) will increase from $410 to $470;
   

• Paper Filing of Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (J-2 work permission) will increase from $410 to $520.

The Premium Processing fee to expedite OPT and STEM Extension I-765 applications increased from $1,500 to $1,685 as of February 26, 2024.

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Curricular Practical Training (CPT) Info Session for F-1 Undergrads on Friday, March 1st

OISSS, in collaboration with The College, will host a "CPT 101" info session on Friday, March 1st at 12pm on Zoom for F-1 undergraduate students only. The session will be recorded and available later on the OISSS website along with the presentation slides. Both Professional Track and Non-Professional Track CPT will be covered during the session. Please note that the session information will not be relevant to graduate students.

[Access the recording here.]

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Reminder: Tax 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 in the U.S. in 2023 must complete both a federal return and applicable state return(s).

The tax return filing deadline for the 2023 tax year is Monday, April 15, 2024.

Information on the annual income tax return filing can be found on the OISSS website. Take some time now to gather your tax summary statements (W-2, 1099, 1042-S, etc) so you are ready to use the tax filing software when it becomes available.

OISSS will be emailing instructions to students regarding the SPRINTAX-RETURNS tax filing software shortly. You can also check the Announcements page of the OISSS website for the message if you do not receive it by email.

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SPRINTAX is offering a Non-Resident Tax Webinar for Brown University which will be held on Thursday March 7th 2024 at 1:00 PM -2:00pm EST. Please Register for the webinar here.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. The session will also be recorded and sent via email to anyone that registers after.

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