Can immigrant workers get the EIC?
Many legal immigrants who are employed can get the EIC. Previous changes in federal law that denied public benefits such as food stamps and SSI to many legal immigrants did not apply to the EIC. But there are rules to claim the EIC that are specific to immigrant workers. In order to claim the EIC, immigrant workers, their spouses, and children listed on Schedule EIC must each have valid Social Security numbers that permit them to work legally in the United States. Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN) issued by the IRS to non-citizens and nonwork Social Security numbers issued to applicants or recipients of federally funded benefits programs cannot be used to claim the EIC. In addition, an immigrant must be a resident alien for tax purposes for the entire tax year to claim the EIC.
