草榴社区

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If you already have an on-campus job, you are ready to apply for a Social Security Number.  If you do not have a job or a job offer letter, you may not apply for an SSN. 

Our SSN letter request form is located online in the Current Student Forms section and select 鈥淪ocial Security Card Letter Request鈥� near the bottom.

It is forbidden to work off-campus without prior authorization.  Please contact intlFREEMississippi if you have any questions.  An F-1/J-1 student who works off campus would be in danger of a terminated I-20/DS-2019 and requirement to depart the U.S. immediately.  Future visa applications would also likely be negatively impacted.

To learn more about various work authorization opportunities, please consult with ISSS or watch the ISSS workshop recording archive.

In order to maintain students, F-1 and J-1 students, must enroll in a full course of study.

Undergraduates must maintain:
12 credits minimum for full time enrollment each semester
Of those, 9 credits minimum must be face to face

Graduates must maintain:
9 credits minimum for full time enrollment each Fall or Spring semester
Of those, 6 credits must be face to face

There are very limited exceptions to full course of study requirements, which include academic or medical exceptions.  A student may qualify for a temporary reduced course load under one of the following academic and medical circumstances.  Please work very closely with ISSS if you feel that you qualify for one of the following exceptions.  Do not withdraw from classes until you receive authorization from ISSS.

Academic Reasons:

• Initial semester of study
  • Reasons:  Improper course level placement, Initial difficulty with reading requirements, initial difficulty with the English Language, Unfamiliarity with U.S. teaching methods.
  • Verified by academic advisor
  • Students must maintain a minimum half credit load (6 credits undergraduate, 5 credits for graduate students)
  • Limited to first semester of study.
  • The appropriate ratio of in person classes must be maintained. 
• Final semester of study
  • Student is in the final term of study and can complete program with fewer classes.
  • Student must be enrolled in at least one required class.
  • The appropriate ratio of in person classes must be maintained. 

Medical Reasons:

• Serious and temporary illness or medical conditions preventing full time enrollment and verified by a medical doctor in advance of withdrawal.
• Student may enroll in zero or more credits, if authorized.
• Limited to no more than 12 months cumulative during entire program.
• If conditions continue, must renew each semester.
• The appropriate ratio of in person classes must be maintained. 

 

Continuing students: Summer enrollment is optional for continuing students who will enroll in the following Fall Term.  Therefore, there are no minimum enrollment policies (i.e. student may have an annual break from classes) and on-line courses are permitted with no minimum or maximum during summer semester only for continuing students. 

Graduating students:  If summer semester is the final term of study, in-person enrollment is required in order to remain in the U.S. and maintain eligibility for post-completion optional practical training (OPT).  However, if students want to complete their studies on-line, it is allowed if they depart the United States.

New students:  Students must enroll full time during their first semester of study.  It is unusual to start a new program in summer, however, if an F-1 student does start a new program, they must enroll full time with the appropriate on-line.  The University of 草榴社区 Mississippi academic bulletins indicate that full time enrollment in summer semester is 12 credits for undergraduates and 3 credits for graduate students.  

All enrolled 草榴社区 students on a non-immigrant visa are automatically charged the International Services fee and required insurance premium each semester. 

Full time employees of 草榴社区 on temporary visas, who are also enrolled as students, are exempt from the charge and can email intlFREEMississippi to remove the charge.

Some students receiving certain kinds of scholarship have noticed a 鈥渢ax liability鈥� is charged to the account.  This is withheld as 草榴社区 anticipates you will be taxed on your scholarship.  The charge to your account allows students to pay the anticipated charges as part of the school expenses, rather than in a lump sum to the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) directly at tax time, saving you time and stress.

If you want to check your charges, please navigate to Soar>Student Account>Account Activity> pull up the charges with descriptions of tax liability, room, and other expenses by term.

A student鈥檚 account will show tax liability charges because:

1 - Unqualified scholarship income sourced in the U.S. was applied to your account. Scholarships that cover the below fees are considered taxable at a rate of 14%:

Meals
Board- Lodging/Dorms
Clinic (shots and x-rays)
Health Insurance
Post office charges
Bookstore
Preview Fee
Course Fee
Alternative Delivery Fee
Wall Street Journal Fee
Transportation Cost

2 - And/or, scholarship income exceeded the amount of charges applied to your account.

U.S. students and international students are both taxed on unqualified scholarships. U.S. tax regulations require that we withhold the tax liability for international students and remit that tax on a weekly basis.

You will be issued a tax form 1042-S by mid March that will show the amount of unqualified scholarship income that you received in the previous tax year. You can file a 1040-NR tax return to determine if you are eligible for a refund on the taxes withheld and paid.

The following website provides additional details and links to more international tax filing information: /controller/general-international-tax-filing-information.php

The International Student and Scholars Services (ISSS) office provides assistance with filing these taxes on a software called Sprintax for the non-resident alien student population during Spring Semester (in March).

If you have additional questions, please email taxcompliance@usm.edu

If you have challenges understanding your 草榴社区 invoice and payment options, please go to Business Services at Forrest County Hall. 

All active non-immigrant students are automatically enrolled an charged for health insurance to protect our students' health and well-being.  The policy has been vetted by university Benefits professionals at the state level for quality and cost effectiveness. 

The only possibility to waive is if:
1) You are a U.S. worker (such as H1-B) who has comparable health insurance or are the dependent (spouse/child) of such a worker.
2) You are part of a government-sponsored scholarship that requires comparable insurance through a different company.  
3) You will not be inside the United States for the duration of the semester.

Email INTL@usm.edu if you feel you meet the waiver guidelines.

-Have a plan:  Know where you will go and how you will transport yourself in case of a weather emergency.

-Stay prepared: Build an emergency kit with supplies for 7-14 days.

-Know what to expect: Review the 草榴社区 Campus Emergency plans: /police/emergency_response_plans.php and the MEMA (Mississippi Emergency Management Agency) website: https://www.msema.org/

-If you depart from your regular residential address for a temporary emergency reason, please notify ISSS at INTLFREEMississippi%20as soon as possible.

In Mississippi we experience severe weather, at times.  All students should have a personal evacuation plan in place.  The ISSS office asks all students to file a personal evacuation plan upon arrival.  In the event of a true emergency, ISSS will send out an updated form for the final plan to allow students time to update/change the details.

Plan ahead and submit your online.

• 草榴社区 Emergency Management and Response
• 草榴社区 Eagle Alerts (sign up or update your contact)