filing for k1 visa while living abroad

[nialljc32 0]

hi there,

first of all thank you to everyone who put this site up, i have spoken to lawyers and a visa service but i have found answers to almost all my questions here. i am a us citizen living in ireland and am engaged to a polish girl ( not entitled to the visa waiver program ) whom i have lived with for the past 3 years. we have a daughter who is 2 years old and is also a us citizen. my questions are;

1. at first we will be living with friends of ours as i have no fixed address in the us. should i put their address on the i-129f petition instead of our home address in ireland?

2. i have not lived in the us for 5 years but we are sincerely emigrating to california. i have not paid us taxes in this time, will it be nessecary to file tax returns? or will my irish tax returns suffice.

3. regarding the affidavit of support, i will be working shortly after arriving in the us but have no income to show from there at present. i cannot get an employer to write a letter as it is not in my interest to commit to a position until i have arrived. i have assets in ireland, primarily a house which will bring in a substantial amount of money each month as a rental property. aswell as this my friend is willing to co-sign with me. will this be sufficient evidence?

4. the us embassy in dublin, ireland, advised me to drop all my documents along with my petition to them (they have copies of all my documents required to acquire my daughters citizenship) but should i post everything to the service centre in vermont? as the last placed i was living was NY.

thank you in advance for any advice that can be given.

good luck to all in this beaurocratic boat:)

Niall.

[Mand 1]

Hi

I didn't realise the Embassy here processes K1 visas too, but if they said drop in your documents then they must do!

1. You'll need a US address for filing, when we went through the K1 (both living here in Ireland) we used my husband's (my then fiance) mother's address as that's where he filed taxes and retained a US domicile etc.

2. As a US citizen you are legally required to file US taxes, even if you live and work outside the country. You'll need to look into filing a foreign income earned exclusion too, to avoid double taxation. You won't have a penalty for late filing if you don't earn above the amount specified in the EZ-2555 (foreign income earned exclusion). It used to be approx $60,000 but is now around $85,000. Rent and some utilities can be taken on board too, but a mortgage cannot.

3. I actually cannot remember how the Affidavit of Support for the K1 works, so not sure of assets v income. Rental income wise, they might want to see what the monthly rent intake v monthly mortgage payment is. And remember that rental income is dropping here. If you have a co-sponsor (must be a US citizen), you don't need to worry about your income or assets.

4. I would go with what the Embassy tells you!

Good Luck

Edited September 30, 2009 by Mand

[nialljc32 0]

Hi

I didn't realise the Embassy here processes K1 visas too, but if they said drop in your documents then they must do!

1. You'll need a US address for filing, when we went through the K1 (both living here in Ireland) we used my husband's (my then fiance) mother's address as that's where he filed taxes and retained a US domicile etc.

2. As a US citizen you are legally required to file US taxes, even if you live and work outside the country. You'll need to look into filing a foreign income earned exclusion too, to avoid double taxation. You won't have a penalty for late filing if you don't earn above the amount specified in the EZ-2555 (foreign income earned exclusion). It used to be approx $60,000 but is now around $85,000. Rent and some utilities can be taken on board too, but a mortgage cannot.

3. I actually cannot remember how the Affidavit of Support for the K1 works, so not sure of assets v income. Rental income wise, they might want to see what the monthly rent intake v monthly mortgage payment is. And remember that rental income is dropping here. If you have a co-sponsor (must be a US citizen), you don't need to worry about your income or assets.

4. I would go with what the Embassy tells you!

Good Luck

hi mand:)

thanks for the response. i dont think that they process it here, just that they will send it on if i leave it with them. this might possibly slow things down so probably in my interest to file direct to the us as it needs to be approved there.

i thought so about the adress and figured i would complicate things if i gave 2 addresses:)

just off the phone with an accountant and going to file my taxes through a us based one. seems il not have to pay any extra taxes, or a very minimal amount if i have to.

the co-sponsor is a citizen and earns more then enough to support us if needed, so hopefully that hurdle is cleared.

thank you very much for your answers. i feel more comfortable with going ahead and starting the process then i did earlier.

i just rememberd one more question......

the affidavit of support is not needed with the petition right? i can file that then have the affidavit filled out and signed for my fiance's interview while we wait approval on the petition. or do i need it in advance?

thanks again,

niall

[payxibka 10,045]

fiance(e) visa petitions MUST be filed stateside... spousal visas can be submitted to the consulate, if you qualify.

[Mand 1]

I would just file directly to be honest. And the affidavit of support isn't needed until the actual interview itself so that gives you time to get your taxes filed

[nialljc32 0]

I would just file directly to be honest. And the affidavit of support isn't needed until the actual interview itself so that gives you time to get your taxes filed

thats great:) listen, thanks again VERY much:) will post up our progress when we get word, fews months i take it:)

take care

niall

fiance(e) visa petitions MUST be filed stateside... spousal visas can be submitted to the consulate, if you qualify.

thanks for the reply payxibka:)

we dont qualify so will file direct to the us, thanks for the advice:)

niall