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A noncitizen of the United States may be able to file for bankruptcy in America.
Noncitizens of the United States often have the same question when considering bankruptcy. You can probably guess what it is, but for the sake of ease, here it is: Can I file for bankruptcy if I am not an American citizen?
The good news for non U.S. citizens is, yes you can file. In fact, you don’t have to be a U.S. citizen and you do not have to have resident-alien status. Bankruptcy is available to anyone who lives or owns something in America.
Like with a lot of bankruptcy laws, things get tricky from there. If you want to keep exempt assets you are at the mercy of the laws of the state in which your permanent home resides. This means someone visiting America can file for bankruptcy, but they might not be able to exempt anything. In a lot of cases it doesn’t really matter anyway, because the person may just be doing business here. Therefore they don’t have any property to exempt.
There have been cases before where non-citizens have setup mailboxes or have opened bank accounts in America in order to qualify for certain areas of law. For any of that trickery to work, it largely depends on the particular court. Of course any immoral or dishonest act would not be tolerated by a good bankruptcy attorney, but it is encouraged that you speak with a bankruptcy attorney to find out what you will and won’t qualify for.
In conclusion, whether you are a U.S. citizen, or not, contact a bankruptcy attorney if you are having financial difficulties. A bankruptcy attorney will be able to show you how you can get a fresh start.
August 20th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
The bankruptcy code does not require a social security card. All that is required is a Tax ID number and any person can obtain a Tax ID number. Therefore, even an illegal alien can file for relief under the bankruptcy code.