Individuals with a Social Security Number in mixed status families are eligible for the new COVID-19 stimulus checks passed by Congress. Anyone who lives in a “mixed-status” household — where anyone in the family (tax filers and their children) uses an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number — instead of a Social Security Number) did not qualify for the stimulus relief payments made earlier in 2020 to provide economic COVID relief. So if you are a naturalized U.S. citizen who is married to a non-citizen, you did not receive the COVID stimulus checks provided by the CARES Act.
The new stimulus checks which have been authorized by Congress for COVID-19 relief but not yet signed by President Trump specifies that anyone with a Social Security Number qualifies for the $900 billion relief package, but taxpayers using ITINs will still be excluded.
14.4 million people live in mixed-status families. A federal class action discrimination lawsuit was filed against the CARES Act by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Under a new COVID-19 relief bill mixed status benefit changes supported by Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, on behalf of the U.S. citizens who had been penalized the “marriage penalty” on mixed-status families has been partially eliminated. The second stimulus package allows:
• U.S. citizens and Green Card holders will receive $600 in direct aid, even if they filed a joint tax return with an undocumented spouse, plus as additional $600 check per dependent child aged 17 or under
• The new bill provides for retroactive payments of the first relief measure to mixed-status families to immigrant taxpayers with a Social Security number
• Taxpayers using ITINs will still be excluded from the new stimulus package
• Undocumented immigrants and other non-citizens who do not have Social Security Numbers and do not file tax returns still are not eligible for the stimulus checks
Chicago immigration attorney Mario Godoy welcomes the inclusion of mixed-status families to qualify for stimulus relief package,
““If you are a U.S. citizen and have a Social Security number you are entitled to the same benefits other Americans receive. Over 5.1 million individuals are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants who pay taxes, and they should receive the benefit of their contributions to the American economy. This is a good start, however, the government should recognize all individuals, including those without legal status, that have used an individual tax identification number to pay taxes.”
Godoy Law Office is an established immigration law firm in Chicago and Lombard with experienced immigration attorneys who are ready to help you interpret complicated immigration law as they apply to your case. Contact us online or call today at 630-912-0322.
Immigration Attorney Mario Godoy has years of experience guiding clients with immigration issues through the immigration process along with guiding clients through the criminal case. Godoy focuses on family-based immigration law, business immigration law, removal defense, and criminal defense representation of immigrants. A criminal charge or conviction can be devastating to your immigration case. With over a decade of immigration law experience and memories of family members who were deported due to bad legal advice, Godoy is committed to helping other immigrant families receive the legal justice they deserve. As a legal entrepreneur who practices immigration law, criminal law, estate and probate law, and running two successful law firms, Mario Godoy understands the importance of keeping families together and making a home and future in America.
