Dear Atlanta Tax Expert,

A friend of mine told me she included immigration fees ( visa issuance, travel to home country for visa interview) in the job related expenses to get deductions ( if itemized deductions is better than standard).
She said that she considers it a job expense ( which was not reimbursed by her employer ) because the visa allows her to work ( hence, job expense ).

Is it possible to do that ? :confused: I am confused because I do not think it was possible to do that for immigration fees (lawyer fees, travel expenses , and visa fees ). So, I did not do it for my own taxes ( I also had to pay visa fees ).

Thanks for your reply.

Cateyes:

To be honest, you could probably claim these fees and the IRS will probably not challenge them.

However, they are NOT considered valid job-related expenses, so if the IRS did catch you, you have no legal ground to stand on.