Understanding USCIS Applications and Tax Returns
Applications for USCIS can be daunting. Many taxpayers reach out to me for help with their documents or petitions for various residency statuses. For many USCIS forms, such as Form I-751, you must file your tax returns. However, taxpayers often delay filing, which can lead to having multiple years’ worth of overdue taxes right before a USCIS appointment or interview.
What Makes a Tax Return Valid for USCIS?
If you haven’t filed your tax return yet, prepare and send the overdue returns with delivery confirmation. Bring a printout of the filed return to your USCIS interview along with a letter from your CPA that confirms the tax return has been prepared. Government agencies do not automatically share information or cross-check files. Each agency has its own separate database, and these databases do not connect with one another. By presenting your tax return, USPS delivery confirmation, and a CPA letter, you show your effort to address your delinquent tax status before the interview.
Processing Time for Tax Returns
Typically, the IRS needs several weeks to process a return. If the IRS identifies issues, it might take even longer. For example, if you have a USCIS interview on Monday and you contact your accountant the previous Thursday, the return might not be fully processed in time. Therefore, bring evidence of tax compliance, such as a copy of the return and delivery tracking information, to your interview.
Filing Status and Alternatives
You should file as married filing jointly if applicable. Alternatively, schedule an appointment at your local IRS office to deliver your returns in person. Having the IRS stamp your returns can provide reassurance and is usually accepted as proof of a “filed” return.
Feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns. You can contact us via email, phone, or by filling out the contact form, and we’ll get back to you promptly.
My spouse and I got married in Mexico and we have an immigration petition for his green card. Should we file married filing jointly, even though my spouse resides in mexico or can I file as head of house hold since he is not in the USA and does not have a social security number?
Hi! Thank you for reaching out. There are several things to note here. Please do remember that this is not professional advice unless hired, but I will provide some notes:
If you are petitioning his green card, during the later phases of approval and (later) naturalization, the USCIS officer may like to see joint returns. Many of my clients required this as part of their petition process – showing that their financials were mixed and therefore a legitimate family unit. This is something you want to bring up to your immigration counsel – however, my experience, both personal as well as professional, has been that the USCIS examiner likes to see joint returns.
With this being said, if he is in Mexico, it may not be practical to file a joint return. A joint return does actually require that the spouse’s income from Mexican sources be shown, although per the foreign-earned-income exclusion, the first 102 thousand in income is excluded from the return anyway. This is completed on IRS form 2555. If he earned less than that, you can file the joint return. If he earned more than that, any part in excess of the 102k that has been subject to Mexican taxes is permitted to be included as a foreign tax credit on a pro-rated basis. The IRS form for that is form 1116.
If you choose to file as head of household, your standard deduction will be less than “married filing jointly,” so you may get more benefits from a tax perspective filing jointly, as well as adding legitimacy to the marriage from an immigration perspective. If you do this, however, you will have to paper-file the return, as the spouse does not have an SSN/ITIN and an SSN is required for online/e-file. Please let us know if any of this helps. We are more than happy to assist on a paid basis if you need further details. Looking forward to it!
My wife came over on a K1 visa last January and we got married within the 90 days but have not filed AOS yet. We also just had a son in this past November. I currently owe the IRS about 30k and do have an installment plan with them. My Question is will my debt to the IRS affect anything with the AOS?
Hi! Thank you for your message. This is more of an immigration question rather than a tax question, however, we are happy to answer. Many of may staff members (including myself, the owner) are immigrants, so our experience is personal as well as professional. Please do note that this message is not professional guidance – we only provide professional guidance on paid retainer. However, it is generally best to either not owe, or, if you owe, to show that you are working toward resolving the IRS debt. My concern with your case is the amount owed, however, being that you are on a payment plan, you should be fine. Please see additional comments from quite a few immigration attorneys at the link here: https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/does-owing-taxes-to-irs-affect-my-green-card-proce-1053434.html
Hi, am petitioning for my fiance. Do I send in my tax returns with the K-1 visa fiance application? Or at what stage of the fiance visa application are the tax returns needed?
Hi! First off, none of this is professional advise until we are hired. With this said, if you are referring to the I-134, then yes, you should be submitting a tax return as per the instructions on the forms. You will also be bringing in prior 3 years tax returns to the interview. Please let me know if you have further questions & we will be happy to address.
I have a question about the I-130 petition and I-1864…Which is a better choice for me, I have filed I-130 for my wife, I am a U.S Citizen and I’m waiting for uscis to process case….This year I am ln track to meet the 125% poverty guideline or surpass it, I believe it is around $ 26.600. Last year I was way under the 125%…. and the year before I was claimed as a dependent by my father…………my question is if I should get an affidavit from my father who has always been above the poverty guideline or do my own affidavit for my wife….I repeat this year I am going to meet or surpass the poverty guideline. Thank you…..Also for the household size of the poverty guide line will my spouse be counted as a +1 on my fathers household number? Right now it’s me my mom and my dad living in the house. They file their taxes together and I file mines seperately. The chart says if there are 3 household members the poverty line is $26.620. So that being said If I do an affidavit will Have to follow the 2 person guideline(me and my wife)? And if my dad sponsors her will he need to follow the 2 person guideline also or 3 person because of my wife. Thank you George!
Hi Carlos, these are great questions! They are, however, a bit too detailed to address directly in a blog post without examining more details related to your situation. Please expect my email today. Much appreciated!
Thank you so much George. I apreciate you taking the time to answer these doubts of mine. I am so worried that I will get denied by USCIS and will not be able to bring my wife to the states. Thank you so much again! God bless your kind soul
Hello I am J1 visa holder and my wife has J2. We have been in the US since 2011. Recently we submitted my H1B petition. I always filled my taxes as married filling jointly but I wonder if I made a mistake? One friend told me that we must fill our taxes as single even though we married? So did I make a mistake? If so how can I correct it at this point?
Hi Mustafa,thank you for your message! You can file jointly with your wife as long as you are a US resident alien. If you spent more than 183 days in the US within a year, you were considered to be a US resident alien. If you didn’t spend more than 183 days in the US, you were considered to be a Nonresident alien and you can’t file Married Filing Jointly with your wife. You should file as Married Filing Separately. Please let us know if you have any further questions & we will be happy to address.
i filled form I-130 from the USA for my german fiance to come to the USA i got my first ever w2 taxes this year this my first ever true job and im hired on will that affect her coming to be with me also her uscis office is closing in Germany and we need to know where will she go and who should she call to handle our pending case they received our paperwork in the USA office of our I-130 before her uscis officed closed now we don’t know where she will go if we are approved for her interview or doctors appointments and stuff also we need to know how much money is required for her to have in her bank account to come to the usa once approved to be my wife
Hi, thank you for your message! Our attorney partners will reach out .
There is a new rule for greencard holders to state on the taxes that they are immigrants. Do you know if it applies to 2019 taxes filed in 2020 or the 2020 returns?
Hi, thank you for your message. The new rules apply to 2020 tax returns that will be filed in 2021.
Hello.
I’m an H1B visa holder and my wife is H4. We are about to submit our “Adjustment of status” application (I-485) for a green card. However, we have a problem. I come to the US at the end of 2018 and my wife joined me a couple of months later in 2019. So, when I filed my 2018 taxes she wasn’t with me and I got bad tax advice: “as she isn’t in the US you are single”. As a result, I made two mistakes: I filed as a single resident though I had to file as a non-resident married to a non-resident. I realized my mistake about May 2020 and filed an amendment return. I have a mail receipt and a return receipt confirming IRS got it. However, due to delays caused by COVID lockdown, my amended return hasn’t been processed yet and my account hasn’t been adjusted. Filing I-485 I should attach my tax transcripts for three years including 2018 that has this mistake. So, I’m scared that if I file I-485 before IRS fix this mistake and USCIS spot that mistake, my application will be denied. Are my fears real? How is it likely that the USCIS find this mistake? If USCIS finds that mistake and issues RFE, may they accept a photocopy of my amended return and the return receipt as proof that I filed it and did my best to fix the mistake? Or all these things are totally useless and it’s better to not file I-485 now at all?
Did you attempt to check if your local IRS office has an open branch? You can get returns processed & stamped officially by the IRS in many of these offices.
Yes, I did. However, all local branches don’t allow to come in with tax returns or amended returns. Only a limited set of services are available now and filing tax returns is not in it. Their official answer: file by mail. So I did.
And now, I literally have to make a decision on what to do with my I-485 filing…
Let’s continue over email at this time. Please message me at george@dimovtax.com