@DadTwoGirls
Yes, it would seem that I am precluded from getting a state ID because I am not a state resident anywhere. As for the SSN card, that will have to wait until after I’ve returned home and gotten it.
For physics students the two most frequent internships are:
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your own college university: you typically get housing included and a stipend.
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REUs: you typically get subsidized housing (often on a college campus) and if the placement is off campus (say, at a lab) there will be information as to how to get to your actual work place.
Start on your own campus: talk to your advisor NOW about getting an on-campus internship for next autumn. Start looking for internships by Thanksgiving. Internships build: you get one, then use that to get to the next one.
You are getting a lot of advice, but you won’t need all of it: it depends what you want to do. You will want a credit card, even if it’s just an extension of your partents card until you actually have an income.
Agree that Discover is a good one for first timers
As a US citizen you have to be resident of one state (for example if you earn money then you’ll need to file a state tax return as a resident somewhere). If you have not established residency in Indiana then by default your state of residency would be the state where you were born or last lived before your parents moved outside the country (if you were born overseas then you would inherit state residency from your US parent).
But if your parent(s) currently live outside the US, then unless you have maintained some other domiciliary ties to your original state, you probably are a resident of Indiana (and if not already then almost certainly will become one once you’ve been physically present in the state for more than half a year). For example, where are you registered to vote?
Some states make it more difficult than others for students to become resident (and note this is different from discussions about instate tuition at public colleges) if they are there temporarily and home is in another state. But in your case you don’t have another state to return to.
OP- you need to stop reading websites and go and talk to the folks at your college’s career services office. They have seen every issue/problem that students have faced for years and will have answers for you. You can get a copy of your SSN card in five minutes- someone at home takes a picture and sends it to you. You do not need to wait until you get home. You are making problems where they don’t exist. If you are a US citizen you have the right to work in all 50 states with no paperwork at all, your passport will be just fine for virtually any employer, and a PDF or photo of your SSN is fine as well.
Get up and make an appointment!!! There are millions of people in the US who do not drive and they manage to get to work, get to the library, get to the dentist, and buy groceries. You will not need a car if you get an internship in an urban place where you will take the bus or walk to work just like lots of other people.
Stop reading. It’s making you anxious for no reason. Talk to a real human being!
@Twoin18
I’m not registered to vote, as the registration application presented to me required me to have either a driver’s license or a state ID.
So, if I am understanding you correctly, you are saying that I am a resident of Indiana even though I have no legal residence there?
@blossom
When the time comes, I will. I’m only a freshman. I asked because I was curious and like to understand how things work way ahead of time.
This summer will be me going home, and next summer will be an REU. The summer after that will be when I will seek to have an internship lined up.
A “legal residence” can be a dorm room. So its not correct to say that you have “no legal residence there”. In any case, the question of whether you are a state resident doesn’t hinge on that (homeless people are still state residents) but on whether there is any other US state in which you are still domiciled.
Your life will be much simpler if you get a state ID and register to vote in Indiana. The first step is to get a bank statement: I assume you have a US bank account with the address corresponding to your dorm. If not then just go open one - take your passport (and you’ll have to give them your SSN but I don’t think you will need to show the card).
Then you can register to vote in Indiana by mail by sending other proof of ID including “a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or government document that shows your name and address at the address you provided on this application.” (see https://www.in.gov/sos/elections/2403.htm).
Then you can get a state ID at the BMV with two forms of evidence of residency, use your bank statement and your voter registration (see https://www.in.gov/bmv/files/BMV_Documentation_List.pdf). You do need your social security card, but you can get a replacement by just going to the social security office in South Bend with your passport, there’s no need to wait until after your trip.
@Twoin18
I see. I didn’t know that my dorm could be my place of legal residence. Regarding the bank account, no, I do not yet have a US bank account. I think I would like to get that sorted at the start of next year. I’ll ask my parent the details of how that’s done.
@blossom is 100% correct. Just go to talk to the career center. They’ve been there, done that. They will be happy to speak to you. That’s what they do. Actually they’ll be ecstatic that someone is being proactive. Talk to an adult who works there (sorry if student interns are offended but you want someone with a lot of experience to guide you).