WHO IS A NON-RESIDENT ALIEN?
A non-resident alien is an individual who is not a U.S. citizen and does not hold an Alien Registration Card (commonly called a green card) or who has not met the substantial presence test. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) issues green cards to aliens who have petitioned for residence status. When an alien receives a green card, he/she has obtained the privilege of residing permanently in the U.S. and is now considered a resident alien. A resident alien has all the privileges of a U.S. citizen with two exceptions: • A resident alien does not have the privilege to vote. • A resident alien is not permitted to serve on a jury. For tax purposes a resident alien is viewed the same as a U. S. citizen. An alien meets the substantial presence test after being present in the U.S. for 183 days over a three-year period. The three-year period must include the current year and the two years immediately preceding. Any period during which an alien is in exempt status does not count to
Two U.S. government agencies, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (now known as BCIS) and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) use the term non-resident alien. BCIS Definition: Persons who reside temporarily in the United States in non-immigrant status are known by BCIS as non-resident aliens. The most common non-immigrant statuses at MU include F-1, F-2, J-1, J-2, H-1B, and TN. IRS Definition: For IRS purposes, a non-resident alien is any non-citizen or legal permanent resident who has not resided in the U.S. for more than 182 days in any given year, as evidenced by the Substantial Presence Test (SPT). Persons who meet the SPT will be taxed primarily the same as legal permanent residents and citizens, which may include withholding of FICA from employment compensation.
