Foreign National Tax Status Review 

IMPORTANT: Registration is not used to create an appointment (in-person or virtual) with the Foreign National Service Center. It is used to initiate the Tax Status Review process. The date chosen will be when required documentation must be uploaded to Box (see below).

Purpose of Tax Status Review 

The Foreign National Service Center (FNSC), in University Payroll & Benefits (UPB), provides a tax status review service for foreign national employees. This service provides a more efficient means of processing tax forms and potential tax treaty benefits. Without a tax status review:

• No tax treaty benefits can be determined or applied.
• A foreign national employee’s federal & state taxes may be withheld at the highest rate until after the review of their tax status is completed.

UPB does NOT provide tax advice and does NOT assist with income tax returns at any time .

Requirements (Read ALL information below.)  

1. Register for a review of your tax status
2. Upload required documentation to Box
3. Respond to additional requests/comments from the Foreign National Service Center

1. Register for a Review of Your Tax Status

IMPORTANT: Registration is not used to create an appointment (in-person or virtual) with the Foreign National Service Center. It is used to initiate the Tax Status Review process. The date chosen will be when required documentation must be uploaded to Box (see below).
 

1. Click on the link for your university below to login to the registration system. If you are not located at one of the main universities below or are having difficulties registering, please contact our office.
    

• Urbana-Champaign Tax Status Review
• Chicago Tax Status Review
• Springfield Tax Status Review

NOTE: New review dates are generally posted the second Friday of the month.
 

2. Select a date with open seats and click the Enroll button.
3. Click the Register button in the pop-up window. An enrollment confirmation pop-up will appear, and an email confirmation of your enrollment will automatically be sent to your preferred email address in the university’s system of record.

NOTE: The confirmation email will provide instructions to prepare electronic copies of required documents, which appear below in Step 2.

2. Upload Required Documentation

1. Complete the electronic Foreign National Tax Information Form and save to a secure location.
2. Scan all required documentation as listed below based your previous and current visa types and save to a secure location on your computer.

• Completed Foreign National Tax Information Form
• Social Security Number (SSN) card, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), or Receipt of Application  
• Passport ID page
• Passport renewal page
• All U.S. entry visas
• All U.S. entry stamps
• I-94 record (electronic, or front and back of card)
• Offer letter, or Notice of Appointment (if available)
• F-1 Visas: All I-20s (all pages)
• F-1 Visas: Employment Authorization Document (EAD) or Optional Practical Training (if applicable)
• J-1 Visas: All DS-2019s
• H-1B Visas: I-797 (original not required)
• Any documentation for change of status

​c . Click the  Tax Status Review – Document Upload Folder link in the invitation email from  Box . The invitation will arrive 1 to 2 business days prior to Tax Status Review date. The document upload folder will not be available until this email is received.

NOTE: If you have not previously used Box, you will receive a message stating Invalid Credentials when you try to login. You will need to sign-up for U of I Box account at  https://cloud-dashboard.illinois.edu to proceed.

d. Click  Continue to login to  Box  with your network credentials.
e. Click the New+ button.
f. Navigate to the location of saved required documents and select the documents to upload. (Holding the Ctrl key allows you to select multiple documents.
g. Click Open. An upload progress bar will display. When completed, a Box notification will summarize how many documents were successfully uploaded.

3.  Responding to Additional Requests/Comments

1. You will receive an email for each item that UPB requests (additional information and documentation).
2. If the requested item is an answer to a question/comment, the button in the email will take you to the specific page and location of the question. You can then answer it using the right Activity Feed pane. Please use the @ function to notify the UPB team member of your response.
3. If the requested item is a task due to a missing document, please upload the document and mark the task as complete.

Once all required documentation and information is received, we will complete the review by either sending an email with further instructions or we will send any tax forms that require completion and/or a signature via Adobe Sign.

Last Updated: February 10, 2023