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I’d like to file taxes so that I can use my income to support my family’s financial documentation, or use it for something like I-245. However, I’m worried that filing taxes could be treated as evidence of unauthorized employment under immigration law.
Accountants keep telling me I absolutely must file taxes, and I don’t know what to do.
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For someone out of status, regardless of immigration law, once you’ve earned income, you can obtain an ITIN and file taxes using Form W-7 — but this can create a corresponding downside under immigration law regarding unauthorized employment. Because of this, many people have historically avoided filing taxes altogether. This reflects a genuine conflict between how immigration law and the IRS each approach the situation. In practice, since out-of-status individuals working and supporting themselves in the U.S. who diligently pay their taxes aren’t actually being penalized for it, I believe the trend is to maintain immigration law’s official stance on the surface (that unauthorized work isn’t permitted) while, in practice, encouraging tax compliance under federal tax law and giving priority access to future relief opportunities to those who did so. Since earning income creates a tax obligation regardless, it’s better to fulfill at least one of the two obligations (immigration law and tax law) rather than abandoning both. And when opportunities like I-245 or a future amnesty for out-of-status individuals arise, those who diligently filed their taxes are likely to be the first to benefit.