$0 of your Texas workers' comp claim form asks for proof of lawful immigration status, and filing a claim does not automatically report you to immigration.

The question you should ask next is: Does my employer even carry Texas workers' comp?

That matters because Texas is unusual. Private employers can choose to be subscribers to workers' comp or nonsubscribers. A lot of workers who moved from other states do not realize that.

If your Fort Worth employer has workers' comp coverage, you usually can pursue benefits for a job injury - including a finger amputation, machinery accident, or winter job-site crash - even if you are undocumented. The claim goes through the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation. Key deadlines are strict:

• Tell your employer within 30 days
• File DWC Form-041 within 1 year

If your employer is a nonsubscriber, there is no workers' comp claim. That does not mean you have no case. It means the injury usually becomes a regular injury claim against the employer, and Texas's normal personal injury deadline is usually 2 years.

This trips people up in DFW construction and warehouse jobs all the time.

If the injury involved a government vehicle or public agency - for example, a Fort Worth city truck, county vehicle, or another government entity during icy winter conditions - the notice deadline can be much shorter: often 6 months under the Texas Tort Claims Act, and some local rules can be even tighter.

So the myth is wrong. The real Texas issue is coverage status, not immigration status. Ask HR or payroll for the workers' comp insurance information, or check whether the employer is listed with the state as a subscriber.