J1 visas and tax returns?

Question

I went to the US for 5 summers on a J1 visa to the same company. I never filed a tax return. Now I'm marrying a US citizen and we're going to live in the US.

What should I do now?

Answer 1

If you earned more than the filing requirement amount for your filing status, you'll need to file any missing returns and clear any debts with the IRS before you'll be allowed to enter as an immigrant. Since your employment should have been subject to withholding it's entirely possible that you were entitled to some refund of taxes withheld. You have 3 years from the filing deadline to claim any refunds due you.