IMMIGRATION UPDATES

UAMS Immigration Insider

Special points of

interest:

My Life Story: Egypt,

by Dr. Eman Abdel

Baky

Crash Course in Tax-

es

Little Rock Marathon

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Office of Immigration Services Winter 2016

Inside this issue:

Tax Return Basics 3

My Life Story:

Egypt 4

Holiday Open

House Photos 6

Upcoming

Events 7

USCIS Provides SAVE Self-Check System

A new self-check function has been added to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigra-

tion Services (USCIS) Systematic Alien Verification Entitlements (SAVE) pro-

gram. The SAVE system is used by federal, state, and local agencies to check a

person's immigration status when s/he is applying for a government benefit. The

new self-check feature is designed to reduce some of the inconveniences that

can be caused when one's immigration status cannot be immediately verified.

Eligibility for many government benefits and documents depends upon one's im-

migration status. When a person applies for a benefit, such as a driver's license,

the issuing agency uses the SAVE system to verify immigration status. If the

agency is unable to immediately verify the qualifying immigration status through

SAVE, the applicant is typically forced to wait for SAVE to be updated before the

benefit can be granted. This, in turn, may force her/him to make repeated visits

to the benefit-granting agency.

The new self-check feature, SAVE CaseCheck, is designed to reduce some of

this inconvenience by allowing one to track the status of her/his immigration sta-

tus verification case online without the need for a special case number from the

participating SAVE agency. For more information or to check your SAVE status,

visit http://www.uscis.gov/save/save-case-check.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Increases Travel Security

with Biometrics As part of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) border security mission,

the agency is deploying new technologies to verify travelers’ identities – both

when they arrive and when they leave the United States – by matching a traveler

to the document they are presenting. CBP’s goal is to enhance national security

and protect a traveler’s identity against theft through the use of biometrics. Bio-

metric information (such as finger, face, or iris) measures a person’s unique

physical characteristics. CBP incorporated fingerprints for biometric identification

and verification in 2004, and is now testing facial and iris imaging capabilities to

help improve travelers’ identity protection, the integrity of our immigration system,

and our national security.

To learn more about the new travel security initiatives, visit the CBP website:

http://www.cbp.gov/travel/biometric-security-initiatives

Page 2 UAMS Immigration

新年好

“Happy new year”

in Mandarin!

The Chinese New

Year, also called

the Spring Festival,

lasts about 23

days. This year it

will begin on

February 8, 2016.

H-4 EAD or H-1B: Which is better? The H-4 Spouse EAD rule allows certain H-4 spouses to apply for and obtain a

work permit which would allow them to work in the United States while they are

waiting for their H-1B spouse’s permanent residency (green card) process to be

approved. However, not all H-4 spouses are eligible. Only spouses of H-1B

workers who have an approved I-140 petition OR have a pending PERM or I-

140 petition for more than 365 days and have extended their H-1B past their six

-year H-1B limit are eligible. More information about eligibility requirements and

how to apply can be found on the USCIS website.

There are benefits and disadvantages to both the H-1B and the H-4 EAD card.

If you have wondered which path may be best for you or your spouse, visit this

link to see the pros and cons of each type of work authorization as explained by

an immigration law firm: http://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-

workers/employment-authorization-certain-h-4-dependent-spouses

IMMIGRATION UPDATES, CONTINUED

EVERY THURSDAY 5:30 – 7:30p.m.

UAMS College of Public Health (COPH) Building

Room G #232

THIS CLASS WILL HELP YOU TO:

Speak English More Proficiently

Increase Your Vocabulary

Meet New People

Increase Your Knowledge of Dif-

ferent Cultures

Learn About Living in Arkansas

DON’T MISS THE FUN!!!!

Sponsored by: Office of Human Resources Chancellor’s Diversity Committee

Center for Diversity Affairs Contact: Carmelita Smith, Manager of Diversity

501-563-4004 or smithsylviac@uams.edu to REGISTER

Page 3 UAMS Immigration

Tax Return Basics

It’s tax season! We’ve gathered some basic terms and information to help you understand the tax return process. Please note: The Immigration Services Office is not trained to assist you in preparing your tax return forms. Visit a local VITA Tax Service Site for assistance. See the resources below for more information.

Important Dates The “tax year” runs from January 1st to December 31st. The tax return filing deadline is April 15. Before beginning your tax return, you should determine if you were a Nonresident Alien or Resident Alien for tax purposes in 2015. Resident Alien for tax purposes: All U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, and nonresi-

dent aliens for immigration purposes who have met the Substantial Presence Test. Typically, if you have been on an H-1B visa for the entire tax year, you are considered a resident alien for tax purposes. Resident aliens can E-file their tax returns, use the same tax return forms and gener-ally claim the same exemptions, deductions, and tax credits as U.S. citizens.

Nonresident Alien for tax purposes: Nonimmigrants who have not yet met the Substantial Presence Test or the Green Card Test. There are special tax rules for F and J status individuals. Nonresident aliens must use different tax return forms and are limited on the exemptions, deduc-tions, and credits they can claim.

Important Documents

W-2: Wage & Tax Statement. An employer issues Form W-2 to report how much was earned and how much tax was withheld for Federal and State income taxes 1042-S: Foreign Person's U.S. Source Income Subject To Withholding. If you were eligible for and took advantage of tax treaty benefits during 2015, you should receive a 1042-S from UAMS no later than March 15. Form 8233: Exemption From Withholding on Compensation. If you wish to take advantage of a tax treaty benefit, you must sign this form at the beginning of each tax year. The Immigration Ser-vices Office would have emailed you regarding this form if you are eligible for tax treaty benefits in 2016.

More Information and Tax Return Filing Assistance IRS website for international taxpayers: www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers

Arkansas State Tax Return website: http://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/offices/incomeTax/individual/

Receive FREE tax assistance at a local VITA Tax Service Site: http://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep/

Change of Address Reminder

Have you moved recently? Be sure to update the Immigration Services office with your new address!

All changes of address should be submitted to Immigration Services within 10 days of any move as

per Immigration regulation 8 C.F.R. 265.1.

Visit our website to submit an Update Address form!

You should also update your address through Employee Self Service to ensure that you receive im-

portant benefit and tax documentation from Human Resources.

Page 4 UAMS Immigration

We want to hear

about your home

and your journey

here!

Contact us at

askimmigration@

uams.edu to be

featured in our

next newsletter.

Egypt is the gift of the Nile as described by Herodotus, the Greek historian. My

country is enjoying a special geographical location spanning the northeast corner

of Africa and southwest corner of Asia. Moreover, the Suez Canal which con-

nects the Mediterranean Sea at the north of Egypt to the Red Sea at the east

and south makes my country a precious strategic point in the whole world with

significant cultural, political and military influences.

Egypt is well known as one of the greatest and oldest civilizations in the world.

Pharaohs or Ancient Egyptians provided the world huge heritages and unsolved

mysteries in writing, construction, mathematics, medicine and agriculture. Egypt

harbors one third of the world’s monuments such as the Pyramids and Sphinx, as

well the ruins of Memphis, Thebes, Karnak, and the Valley of the Kings. Wonder-

fully, the Great Pyramid of Giza is the only wonder of the ancient world that still in

existence! I wish you can visit it one day!

Egypt is the most populous Arab country with more than 90 million inhabitants.

Surprisingly, since the Ancient Egyptians up till now, the majority of us are at-

tracted to live around the River Nile. Let me tell you more about the people in

Egypt. Egyptians are very kind, welcoming, generous and brave people. Indeed,

their sense of humor is everlasting even during the worst times, they can make

fun of everything even their own pain. This one simple character enabled them to

overcome different obstacles successfully. Also, they appreciate a lot family val-

ues even after the modern civilization.

The majority of Egyptians can enjoy simple things like a nice glass of tea, a sim-

ple walk along the Nile or simple family gathering. Football, or as you call it in

USA “soccer,” is the national game in Egypt. We just like it so much! The Egyp-

tian cuisine is very delicious and crosses the geographical boundaries, if you

know “Falafel”! If you have not tried it, trust me.

My Life Journey: Dr. Eman Abdel Baky, Egypt

Page 5 UAMS Immigration

In addition to the Nile valley and Delta region, there is the East desert, the west desert and Sinai re-

gions. Nature has honored our land with the beauty of diversity. If you visit Egypt you can enjoy the

beaches over the Mediterranean, the wonders of life under the Red Sea, more than ten natural

lakes, the River Nile and the green meadows on its sides, the chain of mountains in Sinai, the charm

of the desert with different oasis, and more.

Art is a strong essence in Egypt since ancient times. Poetry, music, songs and movies gain a lot of

interest in Egypt among Arabs as they call it “Hollywood of the Middle East”. The legendry Nageb

Mahfouz is an example of a famous Egyptian writer who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1988.

January 25, 2011 is a land mark in the history of Egypt. The Egyptian revolution is the new miracle

in the modern history of my country. It is just amazing how millions of people can decide at the same

time that Egypt deserves better. Egyptians gave a slap on the face for the old corrupted regime and

a clear message for the future. Sadly, we lost a lot during this struggle. However, it is our duty to

make this huge sacrifice worthy by

building the new Egypt as it should be.

UAMS in Little Rock is my 1st step in

my journey to USA. I came to here as a

research visitor to study more about

skin cancer. It is just exciting to have a

closer look to the American system in

medical research. Moreover, exposure

to new culture, colleagues & friends is

overwhelming. To me, my journey is

just a mind blowing experience that I

will always remember.

Al-Tahrir Square, also known as Liberty Square, in Cairo, where the Egyptian revolution started and continued.

Page 6 UAMS Immigration

Thank you for

making our FIRST

Holiday Open

House a huge

success!

Immigration Services Holiday Open House Photos

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

March Rtika Ryfka Abraham

Latha Achanta

Sudip Banerjee

Harmeet Banipal

Jose Benitez-Gomez

Yu-Ting Chen

Toshifumi Fujiwara

Mauricio Garcia

Mohit Girotra

Zhuopei Hu

Nicholas Hurren

Rajani Jagana

Shanyao Jiang

Alissa Kanaan

Ajoe Kattoor

Manohar Kuruva

Shaoke Luo

Debajyoti Majumdar

Meera Mohan

Tresor Mukiza

Chaitanya Musham

Purushothaman

Raghunandan

Mihir Raval

Rahul Ravilla

Mustafa Sarimollaoglu

Anuj Shah

Susan Thapa

Naga Jaya Yenduri

Hazel Rosson

Courtney Richter

April Lavanya Murali

Mehmet Akdol

Masil Justin George

Amit Agarwal

Benjamin Tharian

Sakeena Raza

Sree Vamsee Chintapalli

Shijie Liu

Seyed Forghani Sae-

idabadi

Appala Sasapu

Deipti Trehun

Keerthi Atluri

Srikanth Reddy Kasula

Aparna Komarraju

Neeraj Dayama

Lorenzo Fernandes

Seunghyun Jung

Asif Padiyath

Aditya Naraian Chada

Naga Saranya Addepally

Peizhong Shi

Shivang Desai

Fu'ad Habash

Anqi Wan

Marcelle Dina Zita

Kai Carey

May Mao Hua Cao

Brian Walker

Esther Prince

Sridhar Enuganti

Rohan Samant

Eva Diaz Fuentes

Timea Buzder

Linxi Li

Jingyun Li

Sachin Tadphale

Diana Escalona-Vargas

Marwan Moussa

Mecit Kaplan

Han-Ni Wang

Suneetha Sampath

Towino Paramby

Chunqiao Luo

Pankaj Patyal

Kshitij Chatterjee

Lisa Gaddy

Page 7 UAMS Immigration

UPCOMING EVENTS: Little Rock Marathon

Date: March 5-6, 2016

Location: Downtown Little Rock

This year marks the 14th year of the Little

Rock Marathon, which is a running and

walking tour through the scenic streets of

Arkansas' capital city. The Little Rock Mar-

athon is held annually the first Sunday in

March. Known for giving the world's largest

marathon finisher's medal, the Little Rock

Marathon offers a variety of events to its

participants, and calls itself “A race for

every pace.” The race weekend includes a

full marathon (26.2 miles/42 km), half mar-

athon (13.2 miles/21 km), 10 km race, 5 km Fun Run/Walk, and a Little Rockers Kids Marathon.

More information and registration can be found at http://littlerockmarathon.com/.

Are you participating in one of the Little Rock Marathon races? Let us know so

we can join in celebrating your accomplishment!

Email us at AskImmigration@uams.edu with your race results, photographs,

and stories of your experience in the Little Rock Marathon races, and we will

feature them in our next newsletter!

4301 W. Markham Street

Slot# 564

Central Building 4th Floor, Wing D

Room 4D08

Little Rock, AR 72205

Phone: 501-686-8132

Fax: 501-603-1318

E-mail: askimmigration@uams.edu

hr.uams.edu/immigration

UAMS Immigration

Services

UAMS Immigration

Upcoming Holidays

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Valentine’s Day

Monday, February 15, 2016

George Washington’s Birthday (UAMS

Holiday)

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Easter Sunday

Monday, May 30, 2016

Memorial Day (UAMS Holidays)

Happenings Around Town

Lanterns! 2016

February 19-21

Wildwood Park’s annual deep-winter festival celebrates the first full moon of the

lunar new year. More information at www.wildwoodpark.org/events/lanterns-2016/.

Arkansas Literary Festival

April 14-17

A stimulating mix of sessions, panels, special events, performances, workshops,

presentations, opportunities to meet the authors, book sales, and book signings.

www.arkansasliteraryfestival.org/

Page 8