Can I sponsor an immigrant if I owe taxes?

Generally, a U.S. citizen may sponsor a foreign national spouse to adjust status in the U.S. to become a Lawful Permanent Resident (to get a “Green Card”), and this is true regardless of whether the foreign national spouse overstayed his initial visa or whether the U.S. citizen owes taxes to the IRS.

Does immigration have access to IRS?

Generally, USCIS will not get records directly from the IRS. It is imperative however that you be honest on your N-400 application. The question on the application is whether you have ever failed to file taxes.

Can you get deported if you don’t pay taxes?

Since “illegal immigrants” do not and cannot exist, there is no way for them to pay taxes and they cannot be deported.

What happens if you owe back taxes to USCIS?

If USCIS discovers that an applicant owes back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), his or her application for citizenship will likely be denied. However, tax issues are not an automatic bar to naturalization.

What happens if you don’t pay taxes when applying for citizenship?

The naturalization application Form N-400 issued by USCIS specifically asks about whether you have paid the taxes that you owe. However, missing a tax payment doesn’t mean you are forever barred from U.S. citizenship. The important thing now is that you do everything possible to fix the situation.

How does my tax status affect my immigration status?

There are a couple of common ways that taxes can affect your status as a permanent resident. First, there may be some tax advantages to file your income tax return as a non-resident, but this could adversely affect your immigration status.

Can You naturalize if you owe back taxes?

To the extent that you can pay off your taxes before you file that would always be our advice. The law says that if you have a back payment order and you have been making payments on a regular basis you can still naturalize. Here’s what you have to do.