Social Security Number (SSN)
In order to apply for a Social Security Number (SSN) you must have a job on campus and be registered in SEVIS. We cannot register you in SEVIS until you are officially registered as a student at Calvin Seminary.
You can go in person to the Office of the Social Security Administration, 50 College Street SE, phone 742-2373. However, in September Social Security personnel will be available on Calvin's campus to issue social security numbers only to those who have on-campus employment. The date and time will be sent to you in an email message. You will need to bring the following documents with you when you apply either here on campus or at 50 College Street:
. A completed Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card (you
can download this form on line from the Social Security web site at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/online/forms.html
. Your SEVIS Form I-20 or Form DS-2019;
. Form I-94;
. At least two documents that establish your age and identity including
a passport and one additional document establishing identity (please check
the web site for other forms of identity that are acceptable);
. Proof of employment authorization;
. A letter on Calvin Theological Seminary letterhead from the designated
school official (DSO) indicating your name, your on-campus employer (e.g.
Hekman Library, Calvin Seminary, Calvin Food Service, etc.), the nature
of your employment (e.g. waiting tables, stocking shelves, cleaning, etc.),
and it must be signed by the DSO, with their typed name, telephone number
and date;
. A letter from the employer on the employer's letterhead that provides
employment verification including:
- identity of student employee
- nature of job the student is, or will be, engaged in
- anticipated or actual employment start date
- number of hours the student is expected to work
- employer identification number (EIN)
- employer contact information, including the telephone number and the
name of the student's immediate supervisor
- original signature and signatory's title
- date
- a student who will receive or who is receiving a fellowship or assistantship
in exchange for teaching or other services may present his or her letter
of award or acceptance, if it outlines the stipulations of the work portion
of the fellowship or assistantship.
For tax purposes here in the USA, you will need either a SSN or else a
US Federal ID number. Applications (W-7 form) for these ID numbers can
be obtained on the web at http://www.irs.gov.
(If you are married and Canadian, Japanese, or Korean, your wife and children
will also need an ID # for income tax purposes. No other countries may
claim dependants.) This W-7 form needs to be sent in along with your tax
return in the spring. Only J-2 dependents who have received an Employment
Authorization Document are eligible to apply for a SSN. F-2 dependents
may not apply for a SSN.
Note: All international students who work here or receive any amount of scholarship money, tuition rebate, or housing allowance from the seminary MUST file income taxes here in the USA and must have either a SSN or a Federal ID Number.
Also, for income tax purposes please retain ALL text book receipts and records of gifts to U.S. charities. If you are Canadian you should also retain moving expense information for Canadian taxes.