Asked 5 months ago - Dallas, TX
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Can legally receive Your lottery winning money if You hit the millions $$$. And when You are illegal immigrant,or should give to friend who is citizen for 50%-50%.
What would You do in that shoes?
Grasias
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I may be mistaken or confused, but I think my colleagues are under the impression that you are asking about using the lottery money to become a citizen. However, if I understand your question correctly, you are asking if you should collect the money yourself or if, because you are an illegal immigrant, you would not be able to and should instead give your wining ticket to a US citizen to collect winnings for you for a 50% cut of the money.
First, I must confess I'm not entirely sure whether or not you could collect your winnings with the information you've provided. Under Texas Law, it is permitted for illegal aliens to collect lottery winnings (compared to other states such as South Carolina, where such participation is not permitted under the law). However, to collect your prize you must have valid Identification. Even if you are an undocumented alien, you still need to present valid identification or you cannot collect your prize. Do you have identification? Furthermore, I would strongly advise against presenting fraudulent ID to collect your prize.
Second, you must be prepared to pay the tax that will be deducted from your winnings. It is my understanding that the Federal Government will take a 25% tax payment from legal permanent residents and 30% from undocumented aliens. Any back taxes and child support will also be deducted I think.
Third, I don't think that giving your winning ticket to US citizen to collect for you is a wise idea. First, whomever collects the winnings would be credited with that income, and any attempt to use someone else to collect it could be construed as an attempt to avoid paying taxes, although I'm not a tax expert. However, I would assume that if you have never paid taxes you could owe back taxes, and any effort to assign the income to someone else to avoid paying those taxes would have negative legal consequences.
A person in the country without documentation "may" be able to collect on a winning lottery ticket. However, simply having financial means will provide no legal status. An undocumented person will likely have to return to the country of origin to apply for a green card unless one qualifies for a I-601 waiver under the new rules that just went into effect. Do consult an experienced immigration attorney for assistance.
