Getting Hired

You are required to present legal documentation verifying your eligibility to work in the U.S by providing acceptable I-9 documents. Please note that you must present original, unexpired document(s) during the hiring process; photocopies will not be accepted. If you cannot present documents demonstration eligibility to work, please contact the Office of Human Resources to go over your options.

U.S. Citizens & Eligible Non-Citizens can provide documents such as a U.S. Passport/Permanent Resident Card or a combination of a Driver’s License/State Issued ID and a Social Security Card. Reference acceptable I-9 documents for a comprehensive list.

DACA Students can provide a copy of their Employment Authorization Document (aka work permit). The work permit has your picture, along with your name and other information, such as the date that your work permit expires.

Employment for International Students

International students with F-1 VISA status may work on campus. Students must first obtain a Social Security Number (SSN), which they are eligible to receive when offered employment at Pitzer or any of The Claremont Colleges. Unpaid internships or volunteer work do not qualify to receive an SSN.

The purpose of an SSN is for the government to track earnings for income tax purposes.

How to obtain your social security number:

1. The hiring supervisor is to provide you with an offer letter to confirm your employment offer. Connect your hiring supervisor with the International Programs Office for an offer letter template, if needed.
2. Upon receipt of the employment verification letter, forward your letter to the International Programs Office to request an F-1 status verification. For additional support and guidance, students should make an appointment with Todd Sasaki, Pitzer's International Student Advisor.
3. Complete a Social Security Card application.
4. Take the following documents to a local Social Security Office:
5. Offer/employment verification letter
6. F-1 status verification letter 
7. Valid passport 
8. Social Security Card application
9. Form I-94
10. Form I-20

Working

It takes about two weeks to receive a Social Security card. However, once you have been assigned a social security number from the Administration, you may complete the hiring paperwork with Human Resources and, once "cleared to work", may begin working.

International students must complete necessary new hire documents.

Income Tax Information for International Students

While attending Pitzer College, working students are subject to two tax authorities. The first is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the taxing department of the United States government. The second is the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), the California state taxing authority. It is essential that international students studying in the United States comply with the taxing regulations that apply to their status.

Failure to pay required income tax when due can subject an international student to additional fines and interest imposed by the IRS and can potentially impact future travel to the US and immigration benefits including work visas and green cards.

Complying with U.S. tax laws is complicated. To assist in completing and filing these forms, the college purchases and provides you with access to Sprintax, a software program for the preparation of non-resident tax returns for both the federal and state income taxes. When using Sprintax, there is no charge for the completion of the documents required for your federal filing obligation. There is a charge for the completion of the California documents. Watch for an email during the Spring semester to get your login.

The following is provided to help international students better understand the U.S. tax system.

Are you a Resident or Non-Resident for taxes?

U.S. taxpayers are divided into 2 categories –

• Residents for taxes
• Non-residents for taxes

(Please note that this terminology does not relate to your immigration status.)

Residents for taxes are U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (green card holders). Most non-immigrants in the U.S. on work visas - H-1’s, L-1’s, TN’s, etc. are also residents for taxes by application of the Substantial Presence Test. Why is this important? Residents for taxes pay U.S. taxes on their world-wide income.

F-1 International students are allowed to claim exemption from applying the Substantial Presence Test for 5 years and thereby are classified as non-residents for taxes. See additional notes below concerning the 5-years calculation. To claim this exemption for each of those 5 years, every F-1 student is required to complete and file the IRS Form 8843, Statement for Exempt Individuals. Please note that this is an information document. It is not actually a tax return.     

Additional Notes Relating to Five-Year Calculation  

• The 5 years are cumulative.  If you have previously studied in the U.S. on an F-1 visa to attend high school or other short-term program, that time is added to your current F-1 time.
• Any number of days you are in the U.S. in F-1 status during a year is considered to be the whole year.  For example, if your first arrival as an F-1 is August, then that is year #1 of your 5 years.    

Taxable Income

If you have received any income from U.S. sources while studying in the U.S., that income could be subject to both federal and state income tax.  What is taxable income? The following are some of the common types of taxable income.

• Financial Aid – Any Pitzer College Financial Aid that exceeds the cost of tuition and fees and other required classroom expenses – books, lab fee, etc. - is taxable income. Information on this income is reported to you on a 1042-S form which will be sent to you by U.S. mail, usually in February. Watch for it in your campus PO Box.
• On – Campus Employment - If you have an on-campus job and receive a paycheck, that is taxable income. This income is reported on a W-2 form which you will access through Workday after January 30^th of each year.
• Other Taxable Income – Other types of taxable income are royalties, honorariums, financial prizes from competitions, etc. For this type of income, sometimes the payer has withheld taxes, sometimes not. The payer might provide you with a reporting form, a 1099-Misc or not. Regardless of whether or not you receive a reporting form, you are still required to report the income on your tax return and pay any resulting taxes.

​Preparation of the Tax Returns

Assuming you are a non-resident for taxes, it is strongly recommended that you use the Sprintax software to prepare your tax documents. There are other complicated aspects of non-resident tax calculations that are not discussed here including factoring in possible tax treaties between your country and the United States, determining if you are eligible for a refund of Social Security tax withheld in error, preparing other state tax returns if you worked outside of California while on an internship, etc. The Sprintax software provides for these additional calculations or returns.

Filing Your Tax Returns

Whether you use Sprintax or prepare your tax return yourself, please note that the documents have to be mailed to the relevant tax offices. There is no functionality for electronic filing of non-resident tax returns. The due date for filing is April 15 for income received during the previous calendar year. Occasionally the date is extended by holiday observances.

Beware of scams!

Please note that the Internal Revenue Service will NEVER call you about your taxes. All communication with the IRS is by mail. Never give out any information about yourself to any caller who claims to be from IRS and who asks you for personal information or threatens you in any way. Just hang up! If you do receive any inquiries in the mail and have any question as to whether the inquiry is legitimate, feel free to take the papers to the International Office for further analysis.

Final Steps – Keeping Records

Be sure to retain copies/records of your tax returns. Information from previous year returns is helpful in preparing returns is succeeding years. In addition, it is highly probable that when applying for future immigration benefits you will have to prove that you have complied with all the tax laws of the US while you were studying. This includes retaining records of having filed the 8843 for those years when you had no income from US sources while studying.