Hiring International Students and Hiring Deadlines for Summer Semester 2008

This memo is intended to clarify employment eligibility and notify you of the deadlines for hiring international students for the Summer Semester 2008.  

• Nonresident aliens admitted to the United States as a student (F-1 visa) may be permitted to participate in Curricular Practical Training (CPT).  CPT includes internships and cooperative education. 
• Social Security and Medicare taxes are NOT paid/withheld for nonresident alien students working under CPT.  (See IRS Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, this exception does not apply to international students who have been in the U.S. in five separate calendar years.)  
• Additionally, employers need NOT pay federal or state Unemployment Compensation taxes for any student certified by their university as an official cooperative education or internship student.  (See Section 201.069 of the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act or the Unemployment Compensation Act for your state.)
•  Workers Compensation Taxes must be paid.  Federal income taxes must be withheld.  

EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY

International students majoring in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Software Engineering, or Telecommunications Engineering and meeting U.S. CIS, UT-Dallas and Jonsson School eligibility requirements may be employed through the Jonsson School IP Programs. 

• CE, CS, EE, MSEN, SE and TE students with F-1 (student) visas who wish to work may do so by enrolling in the Jonsson School IP Programs, applying for Curricular Practical Training (CPT), and securing work clearance through the UTD International Student Services Office. 
• Upon being hired, students will present their work eligibility documentation (U.S. CIS Form I-20) to you. 
• INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS MAY NOT WORK AS INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS.   IRS Publication 519 indicates nonresident alien students “may not engage in business”.

U.S. CIS REQUIREMENTS

In order to meet U.S. CIS requirements for hiring international students, interested employers should:

• Provide the student a signed offer letter on your company’s letterhead, which states or includes the following:
• Position is a Co-op or Intern assignment
• Physical (street) address of the work location
• Detailed position description (The position must be related to the current degree and major of the student.)
• Name, telephone number, and e-mail address of the student’s supervisor or department manager
• Number of hours per week the student will be working
• Wages per hour
• Starting Date and Ending Date (see below)

LAST DAY TO SUBMIT OFFER LETTERS FOR SUMMER SEMESTER 2008

*   UTD rules require that international students enroll in a course related to the IPP/Co-op/Internship/CPT assignment. 

• The last day to enroll in this course without a financial penalty for Summer Semester 2008 is Wednesday, 2 July 2008.  Students receiving offer letters for a summer assignment after this date will face increasingly severe financial penalties for late registration.
• Please try to send all offer letters to international students by Monday, 30 June 2008 so the students do not incur the late registration fees.    It is currently taking 2 days after receipt of the offer letter by our staff to obtain final approval for international students to work on IPP assignments.  We encourage employers to get offer letters to us as soon as possible.

STUDENTS CONTINUING TO CO-OP

Companies that have students currently working on IPP/Co-op/Intern/CPT assignments in the Spring Semester 2008 and wish to continue to employ the same students in the Summer Semester 2008 should submit new offer letters, which reflect the extended work period, to the Industrial Practice Programs at least 10 working days prior to the expiration date of the current work approval.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at (972) 883-4363 if you have any questions.  Our interest is in serving your hiring needs.