N-400 denied due to tax issues (GMC)

[Aman jj 0]

I applied for the citizenship (N-400) based on 5 years as LPR but unfortunately my application got denied because of tax issues( denial based on lack of good moral character), so when i applied i mentioned as i owe IRS and i am in a payment plan ( which is true and i have been making payments as agreed) short story i owe multiple years of tax (3 years) and the reason why i because every year i ending up owing when i filed my taxes since i have high taxable income and my debt is about mid 20 thousands, so when i went for the interview i took my payment plans and receipts that when i make payments, but on the denial letter immigration office specified that i didn't justify enough why i wasn't able to pay my taxes when they were due and therefor they found me with lack of good moral character, even though  when i mentioned that i support my wife and 2 yrs old baby since we are single income household but this wasn't enough.

So my question is, i have few options and  i am looking for an advice, i have been given 30 days to appeal as normally they do which i think this option may not be the best the way i see, as it takes long and the final results may not be positive on my end .

My second option which i was thinking the best but i am not sure on couple things, is that i can pay off my taxes completely( which i am planing taking money from retirement savings and do so) and owing nothing to IRS and re file new N-400 which i will answer that i don't owe anything to a government, but my worries is that since i was denied first time due to GMC , paying off the debt to IRS may not negate this past findings( unless Immigration should adjudicate my new application based on what i mentioned on this new application and without looking at the fact that i was denied in the past and i was found lack of GMC), and by filling out the new application also may save some time and sort of assurance on getting approved if that above factor is not the issue( the fact that i was found lacking  GMC on past application)

Can someone shed a light to me with any ideas/inputs on what is the best option , thanks !!!

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

I do somewhat understand why they did what they did regardless of payment plan. They feel you should have kept up with this regardless, which you should as you know it can add up quickly over just a few years. 

 

All I can say though is definately get this taken care of and paid back so it's done with. As to best steps next I am sure a member here with more experience or better advice can help. 

[Newbie608 103]

Did you use an attorney? It seems as though USCIS knew you could pay off your tax debt but didn't.

I would probably pay off all tax debt and reapply sometime in the future, not right away. Also provide additional evidence that shows good moral character.

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

Well, you are on installment plan and there is no guarantee you will continue to pay it after you are granted citizenship, it is not difficult for them to believe that.

[Aman jj 0]

11 hours ago, NancyNguyen said:

Well, you are on installment plan and there is no guarantee you will continue to pay it after you are granted citizenship, it is not difficult for them to believe that.

I understand what you are saying but  they are approving applicant who have debt to IRS which as long as they are on payment plan, plus its not like i went on payment plan just month or weeks before filing, i have been on payment plan for years and always paying, so there is no reason for them to think that i will stop paying after citizenship, as matter of fact if i become citizen iam more tied to make sure i paid off the debt than not being citizen( they can refuse to get passport or even if i manage to run they can extradite my behind easily as a citizen wherever i go ) but well that is not my worry and not trying to blame them for denying my application since they have a discretion to decide whatever they feel it is the best decision, so i am not crying foul for them to do so ,  i will pay the taxes as i agreed to IRS would do, the issue is that i was trying to figure out the best option going forward 

[Aman jj 0]

19 hours ago, Ben&Zian said:

I do somewhat understand why they did what they did regardless of payment plan. They feel you should have kept up with this regardless, which you should as you know it can add up quickly over just a few years. 

 

All I can say though is definately get this taken care of and paid back so it's done with. As to best steps next I am sure a member here with more experience or better advice can help. 

Thanks, will definitely do so taking care, even if not for the citizenship because the penalties are ridiculous , so financially its wise to do so.

[Aman jj 0]

19 hours ago, Newbie608 said:

Did you use an attorney? It seems as though USCIS knew you could pay off your tax debt but didn't.

I would probably pay off all tax debt and reapply sometime in the future, not right away. Also provide additional evidence that shows good moral character.

Well that's the biggest part showing/proving a good moral character , because the only thing that showed not good moral character was that having back taxes, other than that i have no other any record, never been arrested or anything( i am not saying am an angel but i don't have any other records that will make me a not good fit to a society what so ever),if it wasn't for this i would say my application was clean, so i am not sure by paying off the taxes will prove i have a good moral character since i was on payment plan didn't satisfy them.

[Rc123rc 528]

As a reminder, you will get a 10% tax penalty for using a retirement account to pay off your taxes. That might not be good either. You will be asked where you got the money from to pay the taxes. Also, why do you have money for retirement but not money to pay taxes? Your call. Seek an attorney. I think you might have to hold off on reapplying for a while. You can accelerate the payment plan but I would not use retirement money. That's what they call robbing Peter to pay Paul. Paying your taxes off should help you in the long run but you have shown that you are willing to break the law by not paying taxes and you may do so again if you find yourself in a tight situation. 

[Aman jj 0]

5 minutes ago, rcripps said:

As a reminder, you will get a 10% tax penalty for using a retirement account to pay off your taxes. That might not be good either. You will be asked where you got the money from to pay the taxes. Also, why do you have money for retirement but not money to pay taxes? Your call. Seek an attorney. I think you might have to hold off on reapplying for a while. You can accelerate the payment plan but I would not use retirement money. That's what they call robbing Peter to pay Paul. Paying your taxes off should help you in the long run but you have shown that you are willing to break the law by not paying taxes and you may do so again if you find yourself in a tight situation. 

Actually my plan is taking a loan off my retirement which wont do a penalty , plus as you know the government is encouraging people to have retirement account and this money on retirement is has been accumulating over time it not like i just deposited a chunk of money in retirement instead of paying taxes ( it will be like for them asking me why do i have a retirement account when i owe IRS money?, which wouldn't be a fair question and when you taking into the account that i have been making payments as agreed on IRS at the same time, if that would be the case IRS would not allow me to have retirement account until i finish paying them)  but i agree definitely a lawyer might be a good idea to argue all this.

 

[STIG 5]

23 hours ago, Aman jj said:

unless Immigration should adjudicate my new application based on what i mentioned on this new application and without looking at the fact that i was denied in the past and i was found lack of GMC

When you apply again, the USCIS WILL review the previous denial and question you about it. I would engage an immigration attorney and definitely appeal the decision, making sure you can demonstrate financial hardship as a single income breadwinner for the family. I agree that its best for you to try pay off all the tax ASAP.

[Aman jj 0]

7 minutes ago, STIG said:

When you apply again, the USCIS WILL review the previous denial and question you about it. I would engage an immigration attorney and definitely appeal the decision, making sure you can demonstrate financial hardship as a single income breadwinner for the family. I agree that its best for you to try pay off all the tax ASAP.

Yes it is true that what i thought they will take a look on what happened on a previous application, from the loan perspective i can still show them that i did not have alot to cover the whole debt probably until this year, which is true , its not like my retirement account is loaded but it is very difficult decision that i had to make and probably wise one since that the penalties and charges IRS are giving me are not even close( way too much) to what i will pay on loan interest ,so that can be arguable plus since they will see my 401 k statement and see there was no enough money to get the loan to cover the whole amount when i applied previously and since i was still making payments on payment plan agreed with IRS.

[Ban Hammer 13,427]

one post removed for instigating drama, along with one post quoting.
if one does not have anything constructive to add to the discussion, do not post.

[Aman jj 0]

45 minutes ago, Ban Hammer said:

one post removed for instigating drama, along with one post quoting.
if one does not have anything constructive to add to the discussion, do not post.

Thank you Mod!!!!!!!!!!..cant agree more with what you said!

[Twomoles 8]

Hello Aman,

So what did you decide to do? Is there an update? Because I have an installment plant with IRS too, (smaller amounts but still) wondering if it is even worth to submit N-400 at this time.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

You entered the twilightzone.

There are plenty of cases where an N-400 was approved with tax debt and an IRS payment plan. If you are 100% certain that this was the only . . . um . . . black spot on your file, you just pulled the short stick and got an I.O. who wasn't in the mood.

 

I personally would not appeal. It adds more drama to your case. I would advise you to pay off your debt, and apply again not earlier than a year after your first denial. You really don't miss out on much as a Green Card holder, except for voting in a federal election, and that's not coming anytime soon.