864 Question

[LDora 7]

Hey guys. Although we got married when I moved down to the states in October, my husband and I are just now able to file for my AoS now that his tax return finally came in. (We had to file for an ITIN which delayed it) The only problem is, neither of us thought to save a copy of his taxes before he mailed them in for this year, and so we don't have that to submit with the I-864. Can he submit his W2s instead with an explanation? Or do we need to send a request to the IRS? I'd rather do this ASAP, as I had my med exam in late July last year, so I want to file before the year is up and I have to get another. Any information you could give me would be much appreciated. Thank you!

[sweetpiano 0]

Three options here:

1. Redo the tax forms from memory and attach copies of W2 and all the other forms submitted to IRS (don't forget to sign the tax returns). USCIS should not care if you submit a copy or an original of your tax return. And don't forget to make a copy (or two) of your return this time.

2. Call IRS on 1-800-829-1040, follow options for Personal Account, to request a free transcript of the 2007 return. They send your transcript my mail within 1 week. Since you filed the return recently, most likely it would not have been processed into the IRS system, so the transcripts might not be available to you at this time. As I was told on the phone, it takes about 2 months to process your return into the system, after which transcripts are available. If your taxes are complicated and you cannot recreate them from memory, wait a couple of months and then get a transcript from the IRS. Then file for AOS using transcripts only, in which case USCIS does not require copies of W2's etc. More info on how to obtain transcript here: http://www.tusculum.edu/faid/forms/TaxTranscriptRequest.pdf

3. File for AOS now, with what tax documents you have, so you can get it in before your medical expires, but expect to get an RFE later for the 2007 tax return. By the time you receive that, the return might have been processed into the IRS system and your husband could request a transcript. Just be aware that the RFE stops all processing on your file, including EAD, until USCIS receives all documents they want.

Personally, I would go with the first option, it is faster (though more work), but it is self-reliant, you don't depend on the IRS time frame to process your tax return into their system and then mail you a transcript. And W2's with just an explanation, without a tax return itself, will not be acceptable to the USCIS, you will get an RFE for the tax return.

[LDora 7]

Thank you very much for your help. I appreciate it. I think we'll go for the first option, and call the IRS anyway just to check and see if we can make the request.