Taxes owed to the government

[Julie B. 2]

My fiance currently owes the Canadian government a few thousand dollars in back taxes due to an error from his tax preparer. He has been making steady payments to them of 280.00 a month which was agreed upon by the tax department and him. My question is will he have a problem once we start the immigration process if he still has a balance owed to them? Could this be a reason for his visa to get denied?

Thanks for your help.

[HeatDeath 430]

I wouldn't think so. Neither USCIS (who approve the initial petition and send it to the consulate) nor the US State Department (who issue the actual visa) receive any information relating to the beneficiary's non-US taxes at any point in this process [unless you go out of your way to tell them, which I wouldn't recommend, not that they'll ask - they're really not interested in that area at all]. So I am quite reasonably certain this will have no impact at all on the approval of the visa.

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that after a person arrives in the US on a K-1 visa, there is a period of 3-4 months where they cannot work, and getting a job can take a few more months on top of that. Your fiance should have the savings in place to be able to continue to make these minimum payments for up to 9-10 months if necessary while waiting for employment authorization and, subsequently, looking for work. If somehow, the consular officer does find out about the Canadian tax situation and asks about it, having these preparations in place will satisfy them that everything is well in hand and will make sure it is not an issue for getting your visa.

[AMP 54]

No, but I would advise him to keep making payments. If you guys ever go back he might get arrested. Financial responsability is on you.