Foreign National Information System (FNIS)

Anyone receiving employment, honorarium, non-qualified scholarship, research award, stipend, travel reimbursement or other income from the MBL, must complete the online Foreign National Information Form in FNIS. The purpose of this procedure is to determine residency status for tax purposes and the appropriate method for taxation and/or applicable tax exemptions. If you receive a qualified scholarship, there is no need to complete FNIS.

To use the Foreign National Information System (FNIS), you will be provided with a username and password, roughly 30-45 days before your scheduled arrival. If you do not receive a username and password you may send an email to FNIS-TaxNav@mbl.edu. Upon receipt of your username and password, go here. Enter your username and password and complete the form. NOTE: You will need to have your passport, past visa history and immigration documents as well as present visa information, if available, to complete certain sections of the form.

Helpful Hints

1. The system is designed with most items being “required information.” If you do not have the information that is being requested of you, it is OK to save and submit at a later date when all information is complete.
2. The instructions you receive from FNIS will detail all of the sections we need completed. You may leave the Institution Assigned ID #, the Financial/Accounts Payable System, the Visa Immigration Status System, the Payroll System and Student System blank. If you do not know or don’t have a foreign taxpayer ID number, you may leave that blank as well.
3. If you do not currently live in the United States, you should use MBL’s address as your US address:
   Marine Biological Laboratory
   7 MBL Street
   Woods Hole, MA 02543-1015
   Phone: 508-548-3705
4. Clicking on the questions marks (?) located throughout the form will provide you with additional help.
5. RELAX! We do not want this to be a stressful process for you. Mistakes on the Form can be fixed and edits made after it has been submitted to our office. We will also verify your immigration information when you arrive at MBL to make sure that we are giving you the most accurate tax analysis.
6. If you do not have an ITIN or Social Security number, it is recommended you fill your information in FNIS as soon as possible. After submitting your Foreign National Information into FNIS a treaty analysis and tax determination will be made. After reviewing the information, the Financial Services Administrator will let you know if there are treaty benefits available to you or not as well as inform you of any tax consequences. If the analysis indicates a treaty benefit is available, you will need to have an ITIN or Social Security Number before the MBL can honor the tax treaty. Please keep in mind that the application process for an ITIN can take 6 – 8 weeks once the IRS receives your W-7 Form. An ITIN can only be applied for after you arrive in the U.S. or when you file your U.S. tax return.
7. Visa/Immigration Status History – since tax status is determined by your physical presence in the U.S. (visa history); please take time to follow the directions and complete this step as best you can. Note that if you are here for the first time, you will only have one visa record which is the visa you intend to travel with to the MBL.
8. You will need to upload a copy of your I-94 which you will receive AFTER you have entered the US. If you are not given a hard copy of your I-94 you can use this website to retrieve it - https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/home. Please be aware there is a $30 fee for obtaining an electronic copy of your I-94.
9. Saving with errors – it is OK to save with errors in most cases except when filling in the information about your physical presence in the U.S. (visa history).
10. Final step is Confirmation – be sure to confirm your information.

FNIS Log-in – Username/Password Required – See instructions above

Contact Information:
E-mail: FNIS-TaxNav@mbl.edu