The staff at the Harvard International Office is profoundly saddened by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria this week.  You and your families are in our thoughts.  We hope everyone is safe.
 
If you need to make an emergency trip home because of this terrible event, contact your HIO advisor.  Complete details regarding travel outside the U.S. are available on the HIO website here, and you should review them carefully before finalizing plans to depart.
 
If you must travel urgently please remember to travel with a valid signature on your DS-2019 or I-20; the signature is valid for one year from the date it was last signed. You can find this date on page two of the I-20, or page one of the DS2019 if you are in J-1 status.  You must also have a valid F-1 or J-1 visa and a passport with validity up to six months into the future for re-admission to the US in the future. 
 
If we can be of any assistance to you regarding travel or any other visa/immigration related issues, please contact your HIO Advisor.
 
Please also be aware that the New England Turkish Student Association (NETSA) and the Turkish Embassy in the U.S. are coordinating donation efforts to support humanitarian relief efforts in the region.  NETSA is collecting donations to the Turkish Philanthropy Funds, which is a registered foundation that operates on the field and directly transfer funds across the search and rescue teams equally.  If you are interested and able to donate, you can use the page that NETSA has set up for donations to the Turkish Philanthropy Funds. 
 
You can also look at donating through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IRFC).
(You can look at all donation options at: https://www.ifrc.org/donate)

The HIO will be expanding virtual advising services specifically for the Spring 2023 OPT application season.

An HIO advisor will be available to answer general questions about the OPT and STEM OPT application process on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 3pm to 4pm beginning on Friday, February 3, 2023 and running through Friday, March 17, 2023 (excluding the President’s Day Holiday on February 20, 2023). This service is offered via Zoom an a first come, first-serve basis, and is intended for international students with quick questions.

View the Zoom information here.

The HIO is now on Instagram! Follow @hio.harvard for important updates and seasonal reminders regarding travel, immigration updates, upcoming events, and more. As always, make sure you check your email for important messages from the HIO's advisors and the general HIO account internationaloffice@harvard.edu.

Many U.S. airports have discontinued stamping passports with an entry stamp when you enter the U.S. Instead, each time you enter the U.S., the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) creates an online, electronic entry record to record your entry to the U.S. This is called your I-94 record. The I-94 record will be your only official record of entry to the U.S. 

You should check and save a screenshot of your I-94  record each time you enter the U.S. as the I-94 record is the only official evidence of your entry into the U.S. and you may need it for other purposes. If the I-94 record ever displays incorrect information, or cannot be found, please contact your HIO Advisor.

If you will be working on campus at Harvard and earning U.S. income, you will need to apply for a Social Security Number (SSN) for tax purposes.

You may find full details on the application process, including the required documents to apply, here. Please note, the application will require you to go in person to a Social Security office during their walk in hours. An appointment is not needed to apply for an SSN.

Your visa status determines your eligibility and required documents for the SSN application:

• J-1, H-1B, and O-1 Research Scholars do not need a letter from the HIO to apply for an SSN.
• J-1 Students and J-1 Student Interns need a letter from the HIO first before applying for an SSN.
• F-1 Students must be working on campus, or have a period of approved OPT or CPT, to qualify for an SSN. If you are working on campus at Harvard as an F-1 visa holder, you must obtain a letter from your employer using this template and a letter from the HIO prior to applying for the SSN.

Students requiring a letter from the HIO must make the request through the HIO’s SSN Letter Request Form. Please review the full application instructions on the HIO’s SSN page.

Please note, newly arriving students, scholars, and student interns MUST register with the HIO first, and receive confirmation that the registration has been completed, before beginning the SSN request process. 

As of 12:01AM ET on June 12, 2022, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) will no longer require air passengers traveling to the United States to show a negative COVID-19 viral test or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they board their flight. For more information, see Rescission: Requirement for Negative Pre-Departure COVID-19 Test Result or Documentation of Recovery from COVID-19 for all Airline or Other Aircraft Passengers Arriving into the United States from Any Foreign Country. All travelers to the U.S. will still need to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

Newly arriving students and scholars can find arrival information, including the documents needed to show to Customs upon first arrival to the U.S., here. 

Continuing students and scholars may find a full list of documents needed to travel to the U.S. from a trip abroad here. 

The Harvard International Office provides informational sessions regarding future visa options and green cards each year.  The session is hosted by a local immigration firm speaking about such topics as H-1Bs, TNs, O-1s, entrepreneurship, green cards and much more. The recording from the Spring 2022 session is now available online via this link. 

Please note that the university does not endorse any attorney or firm nor is this presentation intended to be legal advice. 

If you were present in the United States (U.S.) during any part of calendar year 2021 in any immigration status other than B or WT/WB (ESTA), there is at least one tax form (IRS Form 8843) you must file with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this spring. Below is what you should consider in preparation for the coming tax filing season. If you were not in the U.S. at all during 2021, you do not need to complete any tax forms at this year.

• Review the HIO Tax FAQ and Tax Filing Overview for background on the U.S. tax system and tax filing deadline dates for 2021. 
• The HIO licenses a software called Sprintax, which will assist all tax nonresidents with their federal and state tax filing. Current students, scholars, and student interns may log in to use Sprintax using their Harvard key. The cost for federal U.S. filings are covered by the Harvard license. State filings for all 50 U.S. states can be done using Sprintax for an additional fee, listed here.
• All current students, scholars, and student interns at Harvard will receive an email from the HIO in mid-late February providing additional information and instructions to access the Sprintax tax preparation software.
• If you are no longer an active student or scholar at Harvard and need to file taxes for 2021, please contact the HIO via email (internationaloffice@harvard.edu) in late February to request a unique access code to use Sprintax.

This season, Sprintax will be hosting a series of free open tax webinars to provide helpful information around nonresident tax filing obligations. You can find the details and registration links on the HIO's Tax Filing Overview page.