Are immigrants eligible to receive stimulus checks? 

It depends. But, in a bizarre blunder by the IRS, thousands of foreign workers who are not eligible, including some residing overseas, are receiving stimulus checks designated for U.S. residents. The bulk of these mistaken payments are being received by college-age workers who have spent time in the United States in the last two years.

 

It is believed that the incorrect payments stem from a common tax blunder – particularly for those on F-1 or J-1 visas. Often, these workers use an e-filing system such as TurboTax to file their taxes, without realizing that these systems are designed only for U.S. residents. As a result, many tax forms filed by these foreign workers are on the wrong tax forms – filing a 1040 instead of a 1040-NR. This error is rarely caught by the IRS, as the Social Security numbers of the foreign workers and the Social Security numbers of U.S. citizens look identical. This error usually does not have any major ramifications, but this year, it is causing the IRS to think certain foreign workers are eligible for the one-time stimulus payments.

 

In an April survey of over 500 schools, 43% of them reported that they had students who believed they received a payment in error. The IRS has not released any guidance on how to return the money yet.

 

In order to qualify for a stimulus payment, you must be a satisfy the following conditions:

• Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or qualifying resident alien
• Not be a dependent on anyone else’s tax return
• Have a valid Social Security number,
• Meet the income requirements. Payments begin to be phased out for individuals earning more than $75,000 per year, married couples filing jointly who earn more than $150,000 per year, and head of household filers earning more than $112,5000. No payments at all will be made to individuals who earn more than $99,000 per year, $198,000 for married couples filing jointly, and $136,500 for head of household filers.

 

Examples of immigrants who would qualify for the stimulus payment include any lawful permanent resident, H-1B visa holders, H-4 spouses of H-1B visa holders with Social Security numbers, DACA and TPS recipients, and many others visa holders, assuming they have a Social Security number. Immigrants who do not qualify include undocumented immigrants, F-1 student visa holders, B-1 and B-2 visa holders, J,M, and Q visa holders, and anyone without a Social Security number. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list.

 

If you have mistakenly received a stimulus payment, you may want to keep the money in your account in case the IRS demands repayment in the future. If you have any questions about whether you qualify for a stimulus payment, or if the payment you received was in error, please reach out to us either using this website, or by calling 619-299-9600. We here at Feldman Feldman and Associates are here to help.