International Student Employment

First, you will need to find a job either on campus or with a qualified institutional affiliate. 

Finding a job

To qualify for student employment, you will need to register for a full course of study. 

Register here

For help understanding your work permissions, you can review ISSA’s employment guide.

If you need any additional assistance, you can reach out to us at studentemployment@risd.edu or ISSA at issa@risd.edu 

You are responsible for completing the federally required I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form. To complete your I-9, please use Penji to make an appointment with our office. 

International Students need to bring the following original documentation to our office in order to complete the I-9:

• an unexpired foreign passport
• printed I-94 (most recent)
• original I-20
• your Social Security Card, or 
• a receipt from the Social Security Office confirming that you have completed and submitted an application for an SSN card. 

If you don't already have an SSN, follow the links below for application guidelines:

Social Security Number Checklist

ISSA Guide: International Student Social Security Numbers

ISSA Guide to Social Security Numbers 

Letter for the social security administration

International students must file taxes in the US even if you have not earned any income. The form you must complete depends on whether you earned income during the year, the type of income you received and the length of time you have been physically present in the US, among other factors.

You can get a discount code from ISSA for Sprintax, a tax filing platform. Sprintax can help you determine your "resident" or "nonresident" status for tax purposes, as well as help with processing and submitting your tax forms. For tax purposes, “residence” is defined based on the Substantial Presence Test (SPT), which is independent of your immigration classification.

The software is generally available in February. We email current students and students on optional practical training (OPT) with information on how to register and use our discount codes. For more information about federal taxes, visit irs.gov. For Rhode Island tax information, visit tax.ri.gov.

Tax treaty information

If your country of origin has a tax treaty with the US, then a portion of your earnings may be eligible for tax exemption. 

You can schedule an appointment with us to run a tax treaty analysis that will determine if you are eligible for tax treaty benefits. You must bring the following documentation with you to the appointment: 

• original, signed social security card.
• original, signed passport.
• original I-20.
• print out of your I-94.

If your country has a tax treaty with the US and you have passed the Substantial Presence Test (SPT), we will notify Payroll, who will ensure that your earnings are taxed appropriately. In March, Payroll will send you a Form 1042-S, which is a statement of earnings for international students who have declared a tax treaty. 

If you need to update the address where you wish to receive your form, you must submit the address change to Payroll by January. Please email Payroll with the subject line "Address Change for Upcoming 1042-S" and include your full legal name, RISD ID number and new address. 

Tax treaty how-to guide