Must-Know International Tax Traps for Immigration Attorneys and Their Clients

Deadline to Register: October 28

In working with their foreign-born clients, immigration attorneys may experience an uncommonly high level of exposure to international tax issues, especially those attorneys who frequently or occasionally work with high net worth clients.  Due to the highly complex and esoteric nature of international tax law, however, these issues are often inadvertently overlooked by even some of the most experienced immigration attorneys, despite the fact that the stakes can be very high not only for the client, but also potentially for the immigration attorney.  If unrecognized, complex international tax issues have the potential to not only derail the entire immigration process, but also subject the client to very high tax penalties.

This CLE will provide immigration practitioners with an overview of some of the most common international tax law traps so that they can attempt to spot potential issues, identify appropriate limits to their expertise, and work in cooperation with an international tax expert as needed in order to best protect their clients’ interests.  It will also offer practical guidance and critical items that every immigration attorney should incorporate into his or her due diligence checklist. 

The CLE will concentrate primarily on the following topics:

-Expats and recent immigrants: Common immigration traps associated with tax residency claims (F-1, E-1/E-2, H-1B, L-1, LPR, naturalization, etc.)

-The potential immigration and/or tax consequences of long-term assignments overseas;
-Checklist for the recognition of common international tax issues associated with business- and employment-based immigration;

-International tax compliance traps when filling out Form N-400, especially in the context of Offshore Voluntary Disclosure and FBAR/FATCA compliance; and potential issues related to “good moral character” and “maintaining immigrant intent” in the naturalization context;

-"Derivative or acquired citizenship at birth" claims and the potential tax consequences of making such a claim.

Lunch and registration begin at 11:30.