Many people assume that filing for bankruptcy can only be done by a U.S. Citizen but the law does not prohibit non-U.S. citizens bankruptcy. Bankruptcy laws don’t limit the filing of a bankruptcy case to U.S. citizens or legal residents. The bankruptcy code allows people who are not permanent residents or U.S. citizens from filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
What the Law Says About Non-U.S. Citizens Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy code says that a debtor can be any “person that resides or has a domicile, a place of business, or property in the United States, or a municipality, may be a debtor under this title.”
The code doesn’t define a debtor as someone with legal residence or citizenship. A debtor can be an undocumented immigrant, or someone who doesn’t live in the United States. Attorneys have filed cases where a debtor doesn’t live in the United States but has a business or an asset located in the United States.
Having a bank account or some other personal asset in the United States can be sufficient to qualifying a person as a debtor under the bankruptcy code. The belief you have to be a U.S. Citizen or legally within the United States to file for bankruptcy, stems from the fact that credit is generally obtained on the basis of having a social security number.
Bankruptcy forms generally request you provide a social security number as part of filing for bankruptcy. If you do not have a valid social security number then you can apply for an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) with the IRS.
This number can be used to file your bankruptcy petition. It’s becoming more common for banks and credit unions to offer credit to clients using an ITIN. If you build a credit history using an ITIN number this same number can be used in your bankruptcy petition.
Consult Lanigan and Lanigan for Non-U.S. Citizen Bankruptcy
If you are a non-U.S. Citizen considering bankruptcy consult with Orlando bankruptcy attorneys Eric Lanigan and Roddy Lanigan.There is no requirement that a filer has to be a U.S. citizen or have a valid social security to file for bankruptcy. When you consult with Winter Park bankruptcy attorneys Eric Lanigan and Roddy Lanigan you do have to disclose whether a social security number used was legal or not.
Find out what the law says in regard to Non-U.S. citizen bankruptcy by meeting with Eric and Roddy Lanigan.
