Let me explain my situation, and if yours is the same, please let me know.
Last year, in 2025, I completed my one-year J-1 trainee program. I returned to my home country, Ecuador, in January 2026
On my sponsor’s recommendation, I filed my tax return using Sprintax and filled out all the forms. According to Sprintax, I was supposed to get a refund for my FICA taxes and the amount I owed the IRS around $451.
I paid my debt, sent my documents to the offices via FedEx on February 4, and they arrived on February 9.
It’s been three months now, and I don’t know if I’ll receive a refund or if there’s a problem with my case, since I’ve been told that the IRS sends a check to your home country.
Has anyone had a similar experience? Did the IRS send your check to your home country? And if so, how long did it take to arrive?
Posted by pam_ro95
1 Comment
You did the right thing by filing the paperwork but you need to prepare yourself for a much longer wait because three months is nowhere near enough time for the IRS to process a paper FICA refund
FICA refunds for J 1 visa holders are handled completely separately from your regular income tax return and they usually require filing Form 843 and Form 8316 which must be processed manually by IRS agents
The IRS is heavily backlogged on these specific paper forms right now so it is completely normal to wait six to twelve months or even longer to see any movement on your claim
The good news is that the IRS absolutely does mail refund checks internationally to Ecuador but it will arrive as a physical US Treasury check so you need to make sure your local bank can actually cash it once it finally shows up.
Do not panic about the lack of updates just give it several more months because your timeline is entirely expected for this slow manual process.