Upon acceptance into a Wabash workshop or colloquy, we encourage you to contact your school’s staff officer overseeing immigration and visa status to clarify your eligibility to receive a stipend from the Wabash Center.

Workshop participants will be asked to fill out and submit our Foreign National Participant Information Form when they are accepted into the workshop.

Tax Information form

Non-U.S. Citizens will need to submit photocopies of any relevant immigrant or citizenship documents to verify your status. All information and materials submitted will be kept confidential.

The Following Restrictions of U.S. immigration and tax law, enforced by the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) and the IRS, limit the Wabash Center’s ability to pay stipends to our program participants who have a specific visa and immigration status.

1. U.S. Citizens – No restrictions on stipend payments

2. Resident Aliens (also referred to as Permanent Residents or “green card” holders) – No restrictions on stipend payments

3. Canadian Citizens Working in Canada – No restrictions on stipend payments, but you must fill out the proper paperwork prior to your travel to the Wabash Center.

• Please complete in advance and mail to us an IRS tax form 8233. To complete this form you will need to first obtain an Individual Tax identification Number (ITIN) by submitting an IRS Form W-7 to the US Internal Revenue Service. You can download these forms directly from the IRS web page ( http://www.irs.gov/) , but the forms require that you have certain identification documents verified at a U.S. embassy or consulate.
• This can take several months. Please start this process as soon as you are accepted into a Wabash Center workshop or colloquy. Do not wait to complete this process before signing and returning to us the agreement letter and the “Citizenship Information Form.”
• When you travel to the Wabash Center, bring with you your Wabash Center workshop acceptance letter and a valid passport.
• At the port of entry you will be asked to complete an I-94, which will ask whether your U.S. visit is “Personal or Business.” Be sure to select “Business.” This will give you “B-1 Status.”
• Please be sure to familiarize yourself with U.S. visa and tax requirements before you travel – do not rely on our instructions.

4. Non-U.S. and Non-Canadian Citizens Working in Canada – Probably no restrictions on stipend payments, but you must obtain the same paperwork as in #3 above.

• Depending on your country of citizenship, you may require a special visa to enter the U.S.
• Immigration and tax law governing the relationship between Canada and your country of citizenship may impact your ability to receive stipend payments from the Wabash Center. Please contact your school’s staff officer overseeing immigration and visa status to clarify your eligibility
• Please be sure to familiarize yourself with U.S. visa and tax requirements before you travel – do not rely on our instructions.

5. The Wabash Center Cannot Pay Stipends to Participants with H-1B Immigration Status. This is the status of most non-US citizens and non-resident aliens (see #2 above) working in the U.S.

• This immigrant status is commonly obtained for long term employment by foreign nationals at U.S. colleges, universities, and theological schools. It permits the visa holder to work in the United States, for a specific employer – namely, the sponsoring school. Only this official sponsor can pay stipends or salary to H-1B Visa holders. Thus, the Wabash Center is prohibited from paying stipends to H-1B Visa holders.

Note: Immigration status has no bearing on the Wabash Center’s selection of participants, but only on our ability to pay these participants a stipend. We deeply regret these restrictions but are confident that participants who are not eligible for a stipend will nonetheless find our programs valuable even without a stipend. The Wabash Center is, however, able to reimburse ALL participants for all local expenses and travel for the workshop or colloquy.

Please contact us if you have additional questions or concerns.
Trish Overpeck
overpecp@wabash.edu
800-655-7117