You do not have to be a U.S. citizen to file bankruptcy. You do have to be a resident of the state in which you file your bankruptcy case and have lived there for the last 180 days. Filing bankruptcy without being a U.S. citizen does raise one complication. Most debtors who file bankruptcy are identified in their petition by their social security number. If you are not a U.S. citizen you probably don’t have a social security number. In these types of cases the Bankruptcy Code will allow debtors to identify themselves by an “Individual Tax Number” or ITIN. You also have to present a photo identification card. The trustee will accept photo identification cards issued by other countries. Keep in mind that for there is a big difference between not being a U.S. Citizen and being in the United States illegally. I have heard of immigration officials waiting at 341 meetings in order to pick up bankruptcy debtors who are in the United States illegally.
Category Archives: 341 Meeting
BANKRUPTCY: WHAT IS A 341 MEETING?
A 341 meeting, also known as a creditor’s meeting, is presided over by the United States Trustee, and allows creditors and the trustee an opportunity to question debtors about the schedules and statements filed in their bankruptcy case. This meeting is required under 11 U.S.C. § 341 of the Bankruptcy Code, hence the name. Creditors are not required to attend the meeting, and in most consumer cases they do not. In Chapter 13 consumer bankruptcy cases, the only creditors that generally attend the 341 meeting are representatives of the Attorney General when the debtor pays child support and the Internal Revenue Service when the debtor owes taxes.
Trustees use this meeting to question the debtor regarding their assets and financial situation in order to determine whether or not to file an objection. The 341 meeting also starts the clock on several deadlines. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, creditors have sixty days following the 341 meeting to object to discharge. In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case, secured and unsecured creditors have ninety days following the 341 meeting to file a claim in order to receive payments from the trustee. The meetings generally last between five and fifteen minutes. For most debtors the 341 meeting is the only hearing that they will have to attend while in bankruptcy.