Hi,

My husband is USC and I'm Filipina, and we were married in Perth on 2005. We're currently living together in Perth on his temporary visa. He's been living here since 2001 (student visa, then 457). We are now planning on moving back to the US as he just got a job offer commencing in September (the latest).

We are hoping to leave for the US together, and wonder if any of you guys have any good advice on our situation.

We had been looking at doing DCF in Sydney, but we're not sure if we are eligible. But we have quite a few concerns;
1. He is not a permanent resident of Australia.
2. No US tax returns since 2000.
3. His new job will be in Missouri, (but his domicile is in North Carolina), and he won't be in the payroll until September.
4. We may need someone else to be the financial sponsor.

I have a multiple entry B1/B2 visa that's valid until 2017 (I'm assuming that "M" under "Entries" on the visa means multiple entry). Can I enter the US using this visa while waiting for the DCF or whatever visa application is pending in Australia? I'm also an academic, and wouldn't want to forfeit my career by overstaying, is there a way to provide this as proof that I won't overstay? Sigh! Everything sounds so complicated.

We thought of applying for K3, but it seems like it will be way beyond SEptember before it's approved. And being a dependent on his 457 visa, if he leaves Australia, that means I won't have a means to stay in Australia anymore (unless my current employer sponsors me).

Really need some experienced advice and opinions.

Thanks in advance!

Hi, I'm by no means an expert on this, but are you a permanent resident and/or citizen of Australia? If you're not, I
think you can't do DCF as you'd have to do it in the Phillipines. We are doing DCF in Turkey but my husband is Turkish
and I have a residence permit to live here. I think if we were living somewhere other than Turkey, we would not have
been able to do DCF. Have you checked the Embassy's website for Australia? I know in Turkey they had a very
detailed "how to file I-130 in Turkey" packet that we followed to a 't'.

He would definitely need to file taxes for the last 3 years. I've been living abroad for ~4 years and hadn't filed for the
past 3..... until we decided to apply for my husband's visa. Even if there is no income to declare, they still expect something
to be filed.

I don't know about the other things you mention, but I hope it all works out for you!

No, i'm not a permanent resident nor a citizen. We're both here on a temporary working visa, and I'm his dependent. I've read that we actually have to apply in Australia, because we got married here. It seems like regardless of the spouse's citizenship, the application has to be done in the country of marriage, because that's where the interview will take place. Frustrating!

Regarding US taxes, can he still file them for the previous years he missed?

Thanks again.

Hmm.... well, I haven't heard that but again, I'm not an expert! I'll let someone who knows more than I
do answer that.

As for the taxes, he can file whenever he wants. There may be penalties depending on income, but if he made
less than 85,000 USD (approx, I don't have the exact number in front of me!) overseas then his income isn't
taxable. I sent in the past 3 years' worth of taxes when I filed in April, mostly just to fulfill the I-130 application
requirements.

How long did it take for you to get the tax return statements? Is it fairly quick?

Also, will it be a point against the application if he has tax owing?

Sorry to keep bugging. But thanks again. Really appreciate all the info.

I just submitted copies of the returns-- I didn't wait to receive anything back from the IRS. Mine were
fairly straightforward as my income was under the taxable limit.

If he owes taxes I would think he would need to take care of it, or at least make a plan for repayment.
I think the important thing is filing so they can see the level of income and if his income/assets are over
the poverty limit.

Can I just clarify a few things? when you said that you didn't wait to receive anything back from the IRS, then what did you provide with the visa application? Was it a copy of the form 1080 that you submitted to IRS? I thought we need to submit official tax statements from IRS. His income is also over the poverty limit but below the taxable limit.

I only sent copies of what I had submitted to the IRS. I submitted my taxes (for the past 3 years) in April and we sent in our I-130 petition in May.

In the instructions for the I-864 it says:

"You must provide either an IRS transcript or a photocopy from your own records of your Federal individual income tax return for the most recent tax year."

It also says

"You are not required to have the IRS certify the transcript or photocopy unless specifically instructed to do so by a Government offical; a plain transcript or photocopy is acceptable."

I sent copies of my 1040 and the supporting form for foreign income (Form 2555-T). The Embassy accepted our petition, so I am assuming that the copies of my returns were OK.

Thanks again, that's a big relief. I thought we would have to wait for official IRS statements.

By the way, we had started our application process and submitted our I-130 at the Consulate in Perth, and they will be forwarding it to Sydney. Fingers crossed that approval will be quick, and the rest will go smoothly.

faith0922, your case and my case are just about the same

My wife is from the US and in Australia on a 457
I am from the UK and from the UK on a 457

We have both been here together from 2002

We will be moving back to Missouri at the end of the year

My wife has not filed her taxes from 2003 on wards

I asked the same question only a few days to the US embassy and they said I would be able to file for a DCF (of cause every case is different but I would email them and check.)

File your taxes as soon as possible as you will need them, My wife and I are looking what we have to right now but you need to file them as soon as you can as long as your husband has not earned over about 80K here in Aus you should be ok and not have to owe any taxes.

Good luck and let me know how you get on :-)

Hi Davis,

It's good to know someone with a similar case. So similar that we're actually moving to Missouri as well.

We filed our I-130 in Perth yesterday. They said they'll be forwarding it to Sydney.

Regarding taxes, my husband (he's the USC) has filled out all the necessary forms to back file taxes. The only thing we're not yet clear about is whether we should file jointly. Did you have to file as a nonresident spouse?

I have not filed the taxes yet are you able to confirm what you had to do to file past taxes Good luck on the filing :-) of the I-130 did they give you any clues on how long it could take ?

I haven't filed my taxes yet. Still trying to figure out if I really have to file as well.

As for the I-130, the embassy people in Perth couldn't tell us an estimated processing time since it's the Sydney consulate that processes immigrant visas. Also, when we went to Perth to file the I-130, we had this thick pile of papers that we were ready to send off with the form, i.e. proof of bona fide marriage etc, but all they took were copies of our passports and valid visa page, my husband's birth certificate, our marriage license and passport size photos. I am concerned that since they didn't take all our documents, this means we'll definitely receive a RFE from Sydney, which will cause a further delay (when we're trying to aim for the shortest possible processing time. But then, aren't we all?). Now I wonder if it would've been worth flying all the way to Sydney, since they can approve I-130s on the spot (not sure if this is an accurate assumption, but this is what I understand from what I've been reading).

Anyway, which step of the process are you in now?