1. Very Important Documents
I-20 Form
Passport
Please do not lose any of these documents. They
can be hard to replace and can be costly.

2. Maintaining your immigration status
Maintain a valid passport
Maintain a valid I-20 Form
Maintain full time enrollment
No unauthorized employment
Obtain travel signatures
Report address changes over summer session

3. Maintain a valid passport
Check to insure that your passport is still valid.
Six months prior to your passport expiring, you should contact your country’s embassy in Washington, DC to start processing an extension. You can find information on your country’s embassy contact information at
If you have a valid visa in the expiring passport, your country will attach the expired passport to your new passport so you are still able to use the valid visa. They will invalidate all the other pages.

4. Maintain full time enrollment
You must be registered as a full time student for every semester you are enrolled at MHC.
-12 credits per semester for most students
-8 credits for Foreign and Language Fellows
If you need to drop below full-time enrollment (generally only allowed for documented medical reasons), you must see Jenny or Donna before dropping below full time. Failure to do this will result in our office having to notify the immigration service that you are out of legal immigration status.

5. I-94 Arrival/Departure Card
You can print your I-94 card at the Customs and Border Protection website:
You will need your name, date of birth, passport number, date of entry into the US, class of admission (for most F-1)
If you are a transfer student and have not departed the US , you might still have the old version of the I-94 (white card in your passport). Please make sure to keep this in your passport it costs $300 to replace. You will give this form up the next time you depart the US and will be issued an electronic one upon re-entry.

6. US Visa Stamp

7. I-20 Form

8. Travel signatures before leaving the U.S.
You should bring in your I-20 form for a travel signature from either Jenny or Donna at least one week before you will be traveling outside the U.S.
We will send reminder messages about this during peak travel times (fall break, December break, spring break, summer break)
On page 3 of the I-20 is states that travel signatures are valid for one year. However, we have found that if you are traveling outside the US more regularly, the immigration officers would like to see signatures for each semester.

9. No unauthorized work
On-Campus: If you are at MHC on the F-1 student visa, you can work on campus up to 20 hours a week when school is in session and full time during J Term and the summer. The Village Commons and Stony Brook Childcare are not considered on campus employment.
Off-campus Employment: you can not accept any off-campus employment without permission from the Immigration Service or the McCulloch Center
There are two types of off campus work permission for F-1 students but you will not be eligible for either until you have been enrolled in F-1 status for one full academic year and have a declared major. Any work you do off campus must be related to your academic major.
We will have an information sessions on off campus employment – November 13th. We will send reminder s.

10. Applying for a Social Security Number
Needed for application
-Valid passport
-I-20 form
-Employment letter from on campus employer.
Please visit our website for the template of this letter. It must be on the letterhead of the department you will be working for.
-Support letter from McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives
Representatives from the Social Security Administration will be on campus on Friday, September 27th from 12:30pm-4:30pm in 318 Blanchard to accept applications for social security numbers. If you can not apply during this time, you will need to go to the SS Office in Holyoke at 200 High Street. There are no buses that go to this office and you will need to find your own transportation to get there if you are unable to apply on September 27th.

11. COPYING OF VISA DOCUMENTS
Please bring your visa documents (I-20 form, passport) to the McCulloch Center so we can make a copy for your file and for your social security application.
You can bring them in Monday – Friday between 8:30-2:30

12. Income Tax Due Date? Who Files? How Much? Fines? Pay Too Much? Help?
April 15 or June 15 for previous year
Who Files?
All international students, spouses and children over 14 years regardless of if you have worked or not
How Much?
Withholding according to W-4
Tax treaty benefits
Social Security Withholding
Fines?
Underpay, Late filing, Fraudulent claim
Pay Too Much?
Get it back from employer or IRS
Help?
IRS Website
Glacier Software Free to International Students

15. Box ____Blanchard Student Center South Hadley, MA 01075