Harvard Medical School BostonコミュのJanuary 2009 HIO Newsletter

January 2009 HIO Newsletter

The staff of the HIO would like to wish everyone a happy, successful new year.


New HIO Office Hours
Due to staffing reductions related to the budget, the HIO will change its office hours as of 2/2/09 to 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., Monday – Friday. In order to continue to provide vital services to our international population we must reduce the time available to serving the public so that we may be able to issue visa documents in a timely fashion.

HIO Staff Changes
There have been some additional staff changes at the HIO. As of January 20, 2009 Ghazala Khan will be the advisor for Harvard College. She will also handle the visa work for scholars at the College and in some FAS departments. For details please refer to the HIO web site <http://www.hio.harvard.edu/> .

New HIO Web Site
The HIO is very excited to launch its new and improved web site. We hope you will find the newly designed site clearer and easier to navigate. Please visit us at www.hio.harvard.edu <http://www.hio.harvard.edu/> . Let us know what you think by emailing Parker Emerson <mailto:parker_emerson@harvard.edu> and put “new web” in the subject line.

Taxes
As we mentioned in the last newsletter, tax season for filing 2008 taxes is upon us. You will be receiving a separate email from the HIO regarding taxes later this month when the tax preparation web site (CINTAX) goes live. At that time you will receive additional information regarding tax filing obligations. If you worked in the United States during 2008 you should expect to receive tax report statements such as Form W-2 by the end of January 2009. You will need all tax report statements in order to complete your tax forms.

It has been brought to our attention that some students and scholars have received emails that claimed to be from the Internal Revenue Service requesting personal information. Please be aware that U.S. Government agencies, banks, the University, and any other legitimate entities would NEVER request personal information over email. Please do not respond to such emails as you may become a victim of identity theft.

Work Permission and OPT
This is the time of year that many students start thinking about working during the summer or after graduation. Many F-1 students may wish to take advantage of Optional Practical Training (OPT) in order to obtain work permission. You can find more information regarding OPT on our web site <http://www.hio.harvard.edu/> . Please note that graduating students may not send their OPT applications earlier than 90 days prior to graduation. You will receive an email from your HIO advisor in the near future providing you with additional information and application procedures for your particular school. Stay tuned.

Orientation
The HIO will sponsor an orientation for newcomers on January 28th, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. The session will take place at the HIO, in Holyoke Center, Room 864. Meet incoming students, scholars, spouses and partners and get information on: banking, telephones, safety, health care, taxes, visas, housing, etc.

International students and scholars wishing to schedule an appointment <http://www.hio.harvard.edu/students_scholars/web_appointment.php> with their HIO advisor may do so through the HIO web site. It is not necessary to schedule an appointment to register with the HIO or to obtain a travel signature, but an appointment is needed for more complex issues such as employment questions. As a reminder, advisors from the HIO have regularly scheduled office hours at HSPH, HBS, BIDMC, and HMS. See the HIO web site for the details of their schedules <http://www.hio.harvard.edu/about_hio/hours.php> .

Address Changes
Please continue to report any change of residential address to the HIO as soon as possible so your records may be updated and reported to SEVIS when necessary. For further information or to report a change of address <http://www.hio.harvard.edu/students_scholars/address_change.php> , please refer to the HIO web site.