BobKamman
Level 15

The Washington Post has this interesting anecdote about EIP's:

Tens of millions of Americans are still waiting for their $1,200 stimulus checks — but some payments have already gone out to people who don’t even remotely qualify as Americans in need. Elizabeth B., a British national who asked that her last name not be used for fear of backlash, was shocked to find that her U.S. bank account had received a direct deposit from the IRS for $1,200. She received the payment on April 15.

Elizabeth worked for several years in New York under an E-2 investor visa as a communications consultant. She had a Social Security number and paid taxes, as required under the conditions of her visa. In 2018, she earned $13,000 over a few months before returning to Britain. Had she remained stateside for the rest of the year, her annual income would have put her beyond the $99,000 individual cap for a stimulus payment.

Comment:  Many young American men from my generation chose immigration to Canada over the military draft and the possibility of coming home in a body bag from Vietnam, where today a lot of our health professionals buy their PPE.   President Ford in 1974 gave some of them a partial amnesty in return for their working two years in a public service job, and three years later President Carter granted a pardon to most draft evaders without a requirement of public service. 

Many returned to the United States, but many found new lives in Canada.  They kept their Social Security numbers, though, and in some cases worked and filed tax returns in both countries.  I wonder how many of them have "earned" $1,200, either by surprise or by a trip through the IRS Non-Filer portal.