March 16, 2022

____________________________________________________________________

in this issue:

Beware of Housing and Rental Scams
OPT & CPT Workshops
Tax Information for 2021 Filing Year
Features
Campus Happenings
Other Opportunities
Good Vibes Only

____________________________________________________________________

ISS Staff is available to students, without an appointment, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday during advising hours:

11am to 1pm- through virtual advising available online

1pm to 3pm- through in-person advising in the office

There are no advising hours on Wednesday.

____________________________________________________________________

If you need to speak with an advisor outside of our advising hours, please send an email to international@case.edu to schedule an appointment. Please provide your full, legal name and a brief description of the nature of your appointment when you contact us.

Beware of Housing and Rental Scams

As you begin preparing for summertime and, perhaps, living off campus, ISS wants to remind you to be very careful searching for apartments online! Keep in mind that if someone is pressuring you to send money without a signed lease, rushing you to move in before you see the apartment, or promising ridiculously low rent, that is likely a scam. (More ways to spot a rental scam.)

ISS reminds you -- never give your bank account information, Social Security number, or other identifying information to someone you have never met in person. Use an app like PayPal, which protects your information, and use the "payment to a business" option to ensure payment protection on your transaction. If someone pressures you to give them your information, it is most likely a scam.

If you think you are the victim of a scam, please contact international@case.edu or CWRU Public Safety for assistance.

OPT and CPT workshop branding telling students that workshops are available online

OPT & CPT Workshops

ISS is offering Optional Practical Training (OPT) and CPT Workshops to go over in detail the application process, student responsibilities, and other important considerations.

Being well informed before applying for either authorization is extremely important and applying early is critical!

USCIS is publishing that it takes 3-5 months to process submitted OPT applications. Plan to complete a required OPT workshop as early as possible to be best prepared. Remember, you do not need to have a job offer to apply for OPT!

You do need to have a job offer before applying for CPT authorization and you are not eligible to begin your experience until you have proper authorization in place. It can take several days to become authorized.

Virtual workshops led by an advisor have been scheduled and information about required registration, attendance, and the application process can be found on our website under the OPT and CPT sections.

Tax Information for 2021 Filing Year

Tax Deadline in April: Forms & Sprintax Availablity

Sprintax is a tax-return-preparation software program designed primarily for international students and other educational visa holders. It can help you prepare your U.S. federal income tax return, which you are legally required to file to the Internal Revenue Service. ISS has arranged free access to Sprintax for your federal tax filing needs.

You may access Sprintax and begin preparing your tax return by following these steps:

Register and follow the simple instructions
Complete the online questionnaire
Enter Case Western Reserve University’s unique code. This code was sent to you via email on February 1.
Sprintax will prepare your tax return

If Sprintax determines that you are required to file state taxes, you will have the opportunity to prepare those state taxes. You are not required to use Sprintax to file state taxes but, remember, it is your responsibility to comply with the law and properly file all taxes.

If by now, you haven't received your W-2 from CWRU, contact Payroll at payroll@case.edu. If you were authorized to work for another employer, you should contact their payroll department.

For more information regarding the 1098-T, please visit Financial Services website to download the Nonresident Alien 1098-T Request Form.

1042-S forms will be prepared by mid-March and sent to students by Payroll. Please contact Payroll if you have questions about the issuance of your 1042-S.

For more information, visit our Information on Filing Taxes page and if you have any questions, the Sprintax team will be happy to help via their 24/7 live chat function or email hello@sprintax.com. ISS staff members cannot advise you on your questions, which is why we partner with the experts at Sprintax.

Sprintax Offers Tax Webinars to Prepare for Tax Filing Season 2021

ISS partners with the tax experts at Sprintax who offer tax filing services to international students that are considered non-resident aliens for tax purposes. The Sprintax team will be hosting a series of free open tax webinars to provide helpful information around non-resident tax filing obligations.

You can find the details and registration links below for each:

Tuesday, March 22 @ 2pm EST – Register here
Thursday, March 31 @ 12pm EST – Register here
Tuesday, April 5 @ 1pm EST – Register here
Monday, April 11 @ 12pm EST – Register here
Thursday, April 14 @ 1pm EST – Register here

The informational webinars will cover the same topics on each occasion:

An overview of tax for nonresident students and scholars
Who must file a 2021 US tax return
What income forms students may receive
Forms that need to be completed and sent to the IRS
Terms like FICA, ITIN, and Form 1098-T
What happens if students don’t file or misfile
State tax returns
Sprintax overview

Sprintax also released a new blog, How to Prepare for the 2021 US Tax season, which you are welcome to view.

Back by popular demand…

Sprintax is offering users the chance to win a $500 Amazon Gift Card along with some cool Sprintax merch.

For your chance to win this amazing prize, all you have to do is show Sprintax a photo of where in the world you’re filing your US taxes from.

Visit Sprintax's Instagram page for full details.

Features

EVENT

CWRU Holi Celebration 2022

Friday, April 1
5:00pm - 7:00pm

Freiberger Field Behind Tink, Tomlinson Hall, Room 143 , United States
Link

Add to Google Cal,Outlook,Yahoo,iCal

Join our annual event on Freiberger Field that features lots of colored powder, Indian street food, water games, badminton, cricket, music, and traditions associated with Holi! *subject to Covid protocols

More info: https://case.edu/international/events/holi

Holi is known as the “festival of colors” and celebrates the arrival of spring after a long winter. It is also a time for building relationships through play and laughter. Although primarily celebrated in India and Nepal, Holi is observed in many other countries throughout Southeast Asia and around the world.

The festival is celebrated by throwing colored powders and water at others. The colors used are culturally symbolic:

Red - union & purity
Pink - friendliness & happiness
Purple - devotion to self & spirit
Blue - power & passion
Green - vitality & rebirth
Yellow - sincerity & piety
Orange - strength & courage
Originally, the colors were made from Neem, Kumkum, Haldi and Bilva—medicinal herbs which were simultaneously used in the playful festival as a means of preventing springtime ailments.

Today, many popular US events have been inspired by Holi's colorful festivities including the Color Run 5K and the Festival of Colors Music Tour.

RSVP

Campus Happenings

Check Out a Career Workshop Series Designed for Humanities Students

The Humanities@Work program continues with these workshops offering foundational skills needed to thrive in today's job market.

These workshops are designed to benefit students at all stages of their undergraduate studies—whether you are a graduating senior who is looking to improve your networking skills, a junior preparing for medical school interviews, or a rising sophomore who is searching for a summer internship.

The career workshop series will be held in-person. Although you will benefit from attending as many of these workshops as possible, students can attend any combination of events within the series.

Food and refreshments will be served at each workshop, so register in advance for the workshops you want to attend. If you have any dietary restrictions, email the event organizers.

think[box] Welcome Fund

CWRU students can receive up to $50 of materials to use at Sears think[box] for personal projects through our new Welcome Fund (recently extended, available while funding lasts). Try out 3D printing or create projects like a customized acrylic nameplate or wooden pencil cup with no cost for materials!

Learn more about how to use the fund and what projects/materials are eligible on our website.

EVENT

Credit Scores and Reports

Friday, March 18
12:45pm - 1:45pm

Add to Google Cal,Outlook,Yahoo,iCal

In this workshop, participants will...
• Explore the importance of credit scores and reports.
• Learn how to access information about credit scores and reports.
• Discuss strategies to build and improve credit.
• Identify how to protect credit from incorrect claims and fraud.

RSVP

GSC Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Excellence Research Award

In partnership with the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs, Case Western Reserve University's Graduate Student Council presents the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Excellence (DEIE) Research Award.

This award provides funding to CWRU masters and doctoral students who are conducting research with historically underrepresented or marginalized populations in the United States. The grant addresses critical gaps across disciplines in the research and application of diversity, equity, and inclusive excellence. Six research awards of $4,000 will be awarded. Awards are nonrenewable. Applications must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM EST, Friday, April 8, 2022.

Other Opportunities

Save the Date & Volunteer at the Cleveland Asian Festival

Good Vibes Only

During this very challenging time, ISS staff wants you to know that we are thinking about you- hoping you are safe, healthy, staying positive- and sending out good vibes!

In this section, we are including some things that we hope will make you laugh and smile, help you relax, be entertaining, give you something to do, etc.

This is a good vibes only section!

St. Patrick's Day Edition

st patricks day written in green surrounded by shamrocks

Every March 17, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated around the world. Learn more about this Irish holiday, the patron saint it is named after, and the customs of today!

"Galway Girl," a song by English singer and songwriter Ed Sheeran and Irish folk band Beoga, has been called "the new unofficial St. Patrick's Day theme song." On St Patrick's Day in 2017, Sheeran announced that it would be the third single from his alubum released that year. Check out a video of the residents of Galway, Ireland singing backup to this fun, lively song!