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Comment by ktsmith | Hacker News Reader

   * A foreign student can get a U.S. undergraduate degree, go on to get a Ph.D. at a U.S. university, all the while paying federal, state, and other taxes.

Not exactly, depending on status these students are going to be tax exempt.

   For a portion of this time, if they switch employers, they get to start the process all over again, from scratch.

AC-21 portability allows those that are on an H1-B to transfer jobs even if they've applied for permanent residency with a few minor restrictions. For example, you can't change jobs within 180 days of applying, must be changing to a job within the same or similar type/classification (not well defined), must be paid a similar wage, and a couple of technical eligibility questions must be true in regards to form filings.

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You do get extra tax deductions as an international student if your country has a treaty with the U.S. Which countries are completely exempt?

AC-21 portability doesn't come into play until you are almost at the end of the green card process. The long wait is before you get to that stage.

For student tax exemption you would be best off referring to the following link. Deductions has to do with treaties, exemption not so much. http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Forei...

> AC-21 portability doesn't come into play until you are almost at the end of the green card process. The long wait is before you get to that stage.

This is not true at all. AC-21 portability allows the transfer of employment to another employer willing to sponsor the visa. Employment with the new employer can begin as soon as a request to transfer has been filed. The confusion is usually surrounding the idea that once permanent residency has been applied for the employee is stuck, which is true for 180 days post application.

From the M-274 Handbook for employers (documentation on Form I-9 but relevant to this case)

  Under the American Competitiveness Act in the Twenty First Century (AC-21), 
  an H-1B employee who is changing employers within the H-1B program may begin 
  working for you as soon as you file a Form I-129 petition on his or her behalf. To 
  qualify for AC-21 benefits, the new petition must not be frivolous and must have 
  been filed prior to the expiration of the individual’s period of authorized stay. You 
  must complete a new Form I-9 for this newly hired employee. An H-1B employee’s 
  Form I-94/Form I-94A issued for employment with the previous employer, along with 
  his or her foreign passport, would qualify as a List A document. You should write 
  “AC-21” and enter the date you submitted Form I-129 to USCIS in the margin of Form 
  I-9 next to Section 2. See Completing Form I-9 for Nonimmigrant Categories when 
  Requesting Extensions of Stay below. 

  For more information about employing H-1B workers, please visit www.uscis.gov.

There may be exceptions, but almost every single international student I've encountered pay state, federal, and social security/medicare taxes. Nobody has been tax-exempt.

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