University wants to pay me for research, they don't know how.

Hello everyone,

I have a little problem and I was wondering if I could get some advice.

So I go to a city, state, university in New York. At this school they gave me a private scholarship that pays for most of my tuition and it's all good.

Last semester I started doing some research for free at a different university also in the city. At this university they really liked my work, however because of lack of time and because I needed a new job I said I would not be able to go as often. So they asked me how much would they have to pay me for me to stay there and not look for a different job. I asked for 200 a week and we agreed.
However, as you might suspect, I'm undocumented, and therefore I have no social security number.
The professor who runs the lab knows about my situation and wants to help me. We tried to make them pay directly for my housing at my university but they are asking for me to fill a W9 form.

I'm not sure if I'm able to fill this form, but I'm fairly sure I can't. He said we could look at other options, but we are kinda running out of ideas.

Any ideas or suggestions please?

Thanks everyone.

How old are you? if you are under 30 why don't you apply for DACA?

If all they want from you is a W9 form, you should try to get an ITIN. So, do you qualify for DACA?

ITIN would not work for this. Its illegal to hire anyone with out authorization to be here, aka illegal aliens, undocumented.


Paying him with cash would count towards this and if they are asking to fill a W9, it means they don't want to pay him/her under the table. I honestly would just quit and not do it. It sounds like you need that job so do an opportunity cost analysis and see whats more important to you.

Also congrats on that scholarship!!

How about 1099?

Thanks for all your comment guys.
1- I just turned 21, I can't apply for DACA because I moved here January 2008, 6 months too late (still waiting for the DREAM Act or the KIDS Act)
2-I do have a TIN and I gave it to them a while back, I don't know if I can use it on the W9 though.
3- This job is not just any job, this is professional experience on my field (computer science/physics) that I won't be able to get anywhere else without papers. Plus they love me, and love my work, that's why they've tried so many different way to pay me, and I don't want a job like the last one where they treated me like some dumb immigrant who didn't speak English (some of you most likely know what I mean.)
4- Thanks! That scholarship saved me, I got lucky that although it was a state school the scholarship was private.
5- How would it work with the 1099? Is it possible to work around that?

Thanks everyone for your answers, I really need help with this.

Ouch! I feel for you my friend, hang in there hopefully something gets done to help everyone here.. Keep up with your reaserch, you might change the world one day and show them how important immigrants are.

Hmm, what about asking for a scholarship instead of being an employee of the institution? I understand that scholarships are paid to cover tuition and if any money remains after tuition/fees, then the financial aid typically issues a refund in the form of a check or direct deposit.

There's also the possibility that your principal investigator could pay you directly from his research funds and it wouldn't have to go through the university.

Also look at the 1099 option as suggested above. You might need to become a LLC for that and they could pay you as some kind of consultant. There's quite a few threads here about that option if you do a search.

Anyway, good luck, and know that even if you don't get to work for them now, you might in the future. If research is for you, you're probably considering a PhD. Focus on the things you can do now to further that goal.

I was in the same position, I did really well in as mechanical engineer doing research in aerodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid mechanics for the computational fluid dynamics research lab at my university.The professor really wanted to pay me so I could stay, but I tried all avenues even scholarships. What they did is pay a little bit more to the other research assistants that new my condition and in turn they gave me some of their paycheck. It was enough to get by. In my Masters I had the same problem of doing research, but doing it for free or figuring a way out. I knocked on all professor doors, scholarship office, the deans office, and admissions (talk to everyone without fear). Until the dean of graduate school gave me a chance to get a scholarship but keep every semester a 4.0 GPA. I did it and got a free higher education, now have a M.S. and B.S. in mechanical engineering. Unfortunately DACA happened 6 months later after I graduated with my M.S., didn't get a chance to do any internships. I'm having a rough time landing a full time position because of lack of internships, but at least the research sometimes counts and sometimes it doesn't. I would recommend that you knock every door and talk to anyone without fear. I would recommend that you do anyways the research, at least is something. Good luck .