Short Term Foreign National Visitors

Grand Valley State University has two options for payment to short-term foreign national visitors / nonresident aliens (NRA).

1. Travel reimbursement
Foreign national visitors are allowed to receive reimbursement for business and travel related expenses. If the visitor entered under a tourist visa they are not eligible to receive any type of reimbursement. GVSU policy requires that an expense request form be submitted to the accounting office along with copies of receipts. A GVSU employee who has signing authority on the account being charged must approve the form. The expense check will be paid in U.S. currency only.

Send form to: 
Brian Van Doeselaar
201 Lake Michigan Hall
Allendale, Mi 49401

2.  Honorarium
Honoraria are payments made to a professional person for services where compensation is not legally or normally required. Any payment made to an NRA is reportable income to the IRS and subject to 30% federal tax withholding unless exempted by a tax treaty. The NRA will need either an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) or a Social Security Number (SSN) to be able to receive the payment. The individual will also need to file a tax return by April 15 of the following year. Honorariums can be paid to the following visa types: B-1, B-2, WB, WT, TN and J-1.

Additional information on honorariums:
Eligibility to receive an honorarium is not only determined by the visa type but also the 9-5-6 rule. In order to qualify under the 9-5-6 rules a visitor can only be present at GVSU or no longer than 9 days and not accepted payment or expenses from more than 5 institutions in the previous 6 months.

Fail the 9-5-6 test

• If the visitor exceeds any of the portions of the 9-5-6 rule then  J-1 visa paperwork will have to be issued. Contact Kate Stoetzner in the Padnos International Center for assistance.  Please note that the issuing of a visa takes several weeks
• J-1 visitors from another university must have prior written authorization from a responsible officer of that university
• Citizens of Mexico and Canada can apply for TN visas in their home country.  

Pass the 9-5-6 test

• Honorariums can be paid to the following visa types: B-1, B-2, WB, WT, TN and J-1. WB & WT visa waiver stamps are given to visitors from the following countries who complete an I-94 upon arrival: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Uruguay. 
• If the country is not listed above than the B-1 or B-2 must be applied for in the visitors home county.
• NAFTA rules default Canadian visitors to B-1 or B2.

Tax Treaties
Any payment made to an NRA is reportable income to the IRS and subject to 30% federal tax withholding unless exempted by a tax treaty. The U.S. currently has fifty-three tax treaties that cover the payment of honorariums (see page # for treaty list). To claim a treaty an NRA must file a form 8233 with the IRS 10 days prior to receiving a payment. The NRA must also have a SSN or an ITIN to claim the treaty benefits.

• Please contact Luanne Brown in the payroll office to set an appointment to file out the 8233
• The NRA will need to bring the following: Passport, I-94 or IAP-66, SSN or ITIN card