Filing W9 tax form as an F1 international student in the USA
I'm an international student in the USA studying on F1 visa. I have been working as an intern at a company for several months. As an F1 international student, I should be filing the W4 tax form. However, my employer had asked me to fill the W9 Form. The HR of the company stated that all the interns at their firm are required to fill only W9 form because we are working as a consultant or as an independent contractor. But W9 form is to be filled by US Citizens and by independent contractors. I explained to the HR of the company that as an F1 international student, I must fill W4 form and W9 form is for US Citizens and that I'm not US citizen. However, the HR told me that I'm working as an independent contractor so I will be required to fill W9 and all the interns have to fill W9 form only. After asking for help from my University and Company, none of them were able to provide help. My questions are: 1. Which form should I file? (I have received W9 form from my company and none of my taxes are cut from paycheck yet.) Do I have to pay tax? If yes, then what % tax? 2. Will this affect my H1B sponsorship in USA, in future? 3. Any additional advice would be appreciated! Thank you.
