Student Employment Information for International Students

Am I required to work on-campus?

No student is required to work on-campus. Student employment earnings are paid to you directly for the hours you work. These earnings are intended to cover your personal expenses during the school year (shampoo, laundry detergent, cell phone bill, movie tickets, etc.).

Your student account will never be charged for the “work-study” funds you don’t use if you choose not to work. If you have funds from another source (personal savings) you can use those reserves to cover your own expenses. 

What are my options for working on-campus as an international student?

You can work at any position on campus up to 20 hours per week across all actively held jobs each semester. 

You are NOT eligible to work at off-campus federal work-study sites (examples: America Reads or The Jones Library). Consult the Office of Immigration Services about the possibility of working on-campus at one of the other Five Colleges.

Are there any restrictions on my on-campus employment as an international student?

Yes. According to federal regulations, you may NOT work more than 20 hours per week while classes are in session. You may work up to 40 hours per week during break/vacation periods (Thanksgiving, winter, intersession, spring and summer recess). You (not your supervisor) are responsible for making sure you do not exceed the 20 hour limit.  Working more than 20 hours per week while school is in session will jeopardize your visa status.

What are the steps to working on-campus as an international student?

Follow the Step-by-Step Guide for International Students on Student Employment 

Once you've received your new social security card, please update this information in Workday.

What do I do once I've been hired?

You will be prompted to complete onboarding tasks in Workday once you've been hired for your first job on campus. A description of these tasks can be found here, and guides on how to complete them can be found here.

How do I submit the hours I worked on-campus?

In Workday, the Payroll team will lock all student timesheets at noon on Tuesday of a payroll week in order to finish processing. Once the timesheets are locked, users may not make any further changes and whatever has been entered into the timesheet will be paid. Any necessary adjustments will be made to the subsequent  payroll.

In Workday, the Payroll team has visibility to see when time is entered but not submitted and when time is submitted but not approved. An important new process for the Payroll team will be to monitor the timesheets after each pay period and communicate with users and managers when the timesheet process has not been completed properly. 

How do I get paid?

While not mandatory, students are highly encouraged to take advantage of the free Direct Deposit service the college offers.

Direct Deposit saves you the time and hassle of going to the bank every other week to deposit your paycheck. You do not need to have a local bank account in order to participate in direct deposit.

Wages earned from all jobs held will be combined and electronically transferred to a bank account of your choice at the business opening on each bi-weekly payday.

If you choose to receive a paper paycheck, it will be delivered to your campus post office box on the Friday morning of payday. 

If you decline to sign up for Direct Deposit and lose a paper paycheck, a $25.00 stop payment fee will be imposed before the Payroll Office can reissue the check.

If you have more than one job on campus, your total earnings from all jobs will be combined in one payment.

For more information on payroll, visit the Student Payroll Website.

How do taxes work?

Nonresidents in the U.S. who received U.S. income during the previous calendar year are legally obligated to file a 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ tax return every year with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by April 15th each year.

Failure to file the form(s) is a violation of U.S. laws and may jeopardize your future status in the United States. Information about tax return assistance will be provided by the Office of Immigration Services each spring. Read more from the Office of Immigration Services about your tax obligations.

A W2 (wage documentation) for the prior calendar year is provided by the Payroll Office at the end of January each year, which will need to be reported on a U.S. tax return.

If you didn't work or receive income in the U.S., you're still obliged to file a Form 8843 with the IRS.

---

Federal taxes can be withheld from your paycheck, based on your bi-weekly earnings. Based on your visa status, you will not have FICA (Social Security, Medicare) tax withheld. If you earn less than $8,000 per year in wages in Massachusetts and are a full-time student, state taxes will not be withheld.

---

Amherst College uses the software program Windstar/F.N.I.S. (Foreign National Information Systems) to assist with end-of-the-year tax documents we must provide. Since your immigration actions and U.S. presence may change the way you are taxed, we request that you enter up-to-date information in your F.N.I.S. profile each year so that the College may verify your tax status. It is imperative that you verify and submit electronic approval of your immigration information each year. If you have problems submitting your F.N.I.S. information, please contact the Office of Financial Aid.

Instructions for completing the Foreign National Information System (FNIS) data entry.