LAND DOWNUNDER

[Liam and Sam 2]

If he earns any money during the financial year he'll have to put in a tax claim. I guess the only exception is if all total earnings (including any savings that accrue interest) is UNDER $6,000.

To be assured, ring the ATO. They're very helpful. Whenever I call from the US I never get put on hold and they even ask for your US phone number so that they can call you back.

And share any info you find out, for future members

I definitely will. Thank you for the info!

[vylex 0]

Thanks Patricia, Susan and the rest for the feedback. You folks are the best!

VERY useful info! I read the ATO site that Kaffy linked to and it looks like we do file for 2007-2008 for part year since she was a resident prior to moving.

The banking part was what interested me the most. It looks like we'll be ok there too. We're not loaded to the point we'll gain big bucks in interest haha ( yet! ). My wife kept her acct open. She needs to inform them too.

Hope everyone is enjoying the journey!

[kaffy 2]

Hi Aussies just checking in So far things are progressing along quickly with my DCF. I hope to receive my interview notice soon since husband is scheduled to fly to the States on Aug 10 (or 15 if a seat opens up) and I don't want to be apart from him for too long. Wish me luck!

How is everyone else doing?

[Liam and Sam 2]

If he earns any money during the financial year he'll have to put in a tax claim. I guess the only exception is if all total earnings (including any savings that accrue interest) is UNDER $6,000.

To be assured, ring the ATO. They're very helpful. Whenever I call from the US I never get put on hold and they even ask for your US phone number so that they can call you back.

And share any info you find out, for future members

In case anyone is interested, just wanted to share some info on taxes. It seems that my constantly overprepared fiance has rubbed off on me and I had to figure out how taxes would impact us on both sides of the world. A bit early I know but I'd rather have peace of mind. Disclosure first - if anything is incorrect, I apologize. This is what I've interpreted from my research the past few days. And keep in mind everyone's situation will be different.

First off, Liam will be filing an early return for 08-09 Australian taxes. The ATO web site has a section detailing lodging returns early. This will cover any taxes on income he earned July - October 08. On this return we'll check the box that says it's his final tax return. I am still trying to figure out if he will be classifed as resident or non resident of Australia. Also will look into the tax implications of leaving bank account opened there.

The Australian tax return was the easy part. Then I had to consider US taxes and whether or not we would choose to file married joint or married separately. It depends on each individual's situation - our case was a bit complicated as Liam sold shares in 2008 and earned just over the exclusion amount. If you file married joint you have to claim worldwide income and submit a statement saying you want your spouse to be considered a resident for tax purposes. You then choose to have a foreign tax credit or foreign income exclusion (not sure which is better).

I wanted to avoid extra paperwork and making things difficult at tax time (isn't it already hard enough!?). Despite the advantages of filing married joint - we are going to go the married filing separately route. I qualify to have Liam as an exemption on my return as he will have no US income in 2008, is no one else's dependent, and is not filing a return. I may end up calling the IRS to make sure he doesn't have to file any other forms. His additional exemption definately comes in handy so don't pass up the extra few thousand if you qualify to use it!

I hope this helps anyone who was wondering the same things. The IRS has a calculator online already for 2008 to help you determine what is best for your situation.

[vylex 0]

The Australian tax return was the easy part. Then I had to consider US taxes and whether or not we would choose to file married joint or married separately. It depends on each individual's situation - our case was a bit complicated as Liam sold shares in 2008 and earned just over the exclusion amount. If you file married joint you have to claim worldwide income and submit a statement saying you want your spouse to be considered a resident for tax purposes. You then choose to have a foreign tax credit or foreign income exclusion (not sure which is better).

I wanted to avoid extra paperwork and making things difficult at tax time (isn't it already hard enough!?). Despite the advantages of filing married joint - we are going to go the married filing separately route. I qualify to have Liam as an exemption on my return as he will have no US income in 2008, is no one else's dependent, and is not filing a return. I may end up calling the IRS to make sure he doesn't have to file any other forms. His additional exemption definately comes in handy so don't pass up the extra few thousand if you qualify to use it!

I hope this helps anyone who was wondering the same things. The IRS has a calculator online already for 2008 to help you determine what is best for your situation.

Thanks for sharing your info! Since US Taxes came first we applied as married filing jointly and also submitted the Foreign Income Exclusion form (real easy to fill out). Basically our reported combined worldwide income gets negated with my wife's Aussie income. The exclusion amount for an overseas salary was limited to something like USD$75,000. Since she made less than that we were able to exclude her entire income which basically helped our US tax situation greatly.

I hope filing with the ATO will be easier. We will probably do the online route since it seems to be the easiest. I hope it covers the leaving Australia permanently route.

[Liam and Sam 2]

Thanks for sharing your info! Since US Taxes came first we applied as married filing jointly and also submitted the Foreign Income Exclusion form (real easy to fill out). Basically our reported combined worldwide income gets negated with my wife's Aussie income. The exclusion amount for an overseas salary was limited to something like USD$75,000. Since she made less than that we were able to exclude her entire income which basically helped our US tax situation greatly.

I hope filing with the ATO will be easier. We will probably do the online route since it seems to be the easiest. I hope it covers the leaving Australia permanently route.

Question on filing joint - since her income fell below the exclusion amount did you have to include any payments summaries or anything? Just curious, I considered figuring out what would happen if we filed joint but it seemed like a lot of hassle to estimate the income for the 4mo timeframe, convert it to dollars and then provide all of the necessary documentation.

Also, when estimating the exclusion amount - does it depend on time in the US?

Edited July 18, 2008 by Liam and Sam

[kaffy 2]

Hey guys what time is the Consulate in Sydney open from?

I have a 9am appointment for my visa and want to arrive a little earlier

[Liam and Sam 2]

Hey guys what time is the Consulate in Sydney open from?

I have a 9am appointment for my visa and want to arrive a little earlier

We had a 9am appointment for our K1 visa but went early. We got there at about 7:45 and they let us through. We actually did our interview long before our appointment even started. I think officially they open at 8am.

[SharynY 2]

my cousin is doing my final tax return ... and filing it as such so the ATO wont be chasing me next year for my tax return lol ....

hi kath!! good to see your doing really well! i've got a number for USCIS to call them and find out what the heck is going on,.. tired of waiting - i'd rather have this all done before the birth of our first child .....

congrats to all who have their visas!

[Possum 0]

hey everyone! haven't posted in a while so i don't know if this has been discussed, so sorry if this is repetitive. my aussie and i are hoping to get our NOA2 soon and we'd like to get a jump on whatever we can start doing now, to reduce the wait time from this point forth. I have a rough idea of what's in packet 3, but i don't know if it's different for each country, so if anyone can tell me exactly what the embassy in sydney asks for and what we can start gathering now, that would be great. like, does he have to wait to get the police certificate, or can he get it now, or is it just a form he has to get filled out? and the AOS from me (from my employer, i'm assuming), can i get that now, or do i need to wait until he gets his instructions so that it's dated after our NOA2?

thanks guys!

[Kath 0]

Hi Poss

yeah its been asked before but dont worry on that stuff changes all the time...go to the embassey information at the top of this page and click on the Australian Embassey there is alot of information in there that will help you..also go to the below link to the Sydney Consulate website..on the left hand side there are listings of things you need to get for your interview...

Sydney Consulate information

the police check when i was doing it was valid for 1 year...this also went for the medical..someone who has done it recently might be able to correct me is this is wrong...also with his medical and police checks tell him to make copies of police check and ask the doctor to make a copy for his records ...also tell him to get his blood tests done by his local doctor to see what his ammunity is ..that way you dont get unneccessary vaccinations and get the results printed out you can get them put on medicare..these will help with costs at the medical..

The AOS is Adjustment Of Status...which is done within 90 days of arriving in the states and after you get married...I think you were thinking of the Affidavit of Support that you as the Sponsor has to fill out and send tax transcripts and employer letter and bank statements..

Evidence you can start collecting for him to show at the interview are photot's of you together...phone bills...letters...cards...boarding passes from trips to both of you...if you sent parcels to each other the cover...the list is endless really of what you can think of that will prove you have a relationship...engagement ring receipt...um any wedding plan receipts you might have...just to name a few...

hope your NOA2 is soon to arrive...good luck

well i have started getting my stuff together for my removal of conditions....damm that 2 years went fast...will be sending it off in a couple of weeks...

went down to kentucky for a week to see robert's aunty..didnt get good news though..was a shock to the system actually...we knew his uncle had been in hospital and his aunt is in the early stages of alhzimers....she had forgotten to ring us or anyone else around her that he died on june 2nd..we turned up at her home and the relatives and church memebers were sorting out all their belongings ...the family had put her into a retirement home ..the niece had her living with her but she kept wandering off and needed 24 hour care..so to walk into that was a big downer on the trip..we went to see her in the home she recognised my hubby but as the visit went on she was not remembering him..and she thought she had met me before which she hadn't...its about the saddest thing i have experienced over here...so now i am compiling a photo album for her to send down to her and a few other things for her...

so we didnt get the answers to roberts family tree that he was hoping to get...yesterday i discovered his father was adopted...then disappears from that family within 10 years...so the search continues..and to make things worse..the cemetery robert remembers his father being buried in told us they have no record of him being there...so we have to go over to michigan to find out for ourselves...

ok enough of the rambling of me

hope everyone is doing well..

hiya sharyna....gawd mate i still would do the info pass ...if it is close by that is..but i do hope they are able to help you with any questions you fire at them...

take care

kath

edited due to a condition they call forgetfullness lol forgot to put the link in lol

Edited July 23, 2008 by Kath

[Possum 0]

Hi Poss

yeah its been asked before but dont worry on that stuff changes all the time...go to the embassey information at the top of this page and click on the Australian Embassey there is alot of information in there that will help you..also go to the below link to the Sydney Consulate website..on the left hand side there are listings of things you need to get for your interview...

Sydney Consulate information

the police check when i was doing it was valid for 1 year...this also went for the medical..someone who has done it recently might be able to correct me is this is wrong...also with his medical and police checks tell him to make copies of police check and ask the doctor to make a copy for his records ...also tell him to get his blood tests done by his local doctor to see what his ammunity is ..that way you dont get unneccessary vaccinations and get the results printed out you can get them put on medicare..these will help with costs at the medical..

The AOS is Adjustment Of Status...which is done within 90 days of arriving in the states and after you get married...I think you were thinking of the Affidavit of Support that you as the Sponsor has to fill out and send tax transcripts and employer letter and bank statements..

Evidence you can start collecting for him to show at the interview are photot's of you together...phone bills...letters...cards...boarding passes from trips to both of you...if you sent parcels to each other the cover...the list is endless really of what you can think of that will prove you have a relationship...engagement ring receipt...um any wedding plan receipts you might have...just to name a few...

hope your NOA2 is soon to arrive...good luck

well i have started getting my stuff together for my removal of conditions....damm that 2 years went fast...will be sending it off in a couple of weeks...

went down to kentucky for a week to see robert's aunty..didnt get good news though..was a shock to the system actually...we knew his uncle had been in hospital and his aunt is in the early stages of alhzimers....she had forgotten to ring us or anyone else around her that he died on june 2nd..we turned up at her home and the relatives and church memebers were sorting out all their belongings ...the family had put her into a retirement home ..the niece had her living with her but she kept wandering off and needed 24 hour care..so to walk into that was a big downer on the trip..we went to see her in the home she recognised my hubby but as the visit went on she was not remembering him..and she thought she had met me before which she hadn't...its about the saddest thing i have experienced over here...so now i am compiling a photo album for her to send down to her and a few other things for her...

so we didnt get the answers to roberts family tree that he was hoping to get...yesterday i discovered his father was adopted...then disappears from that family within 10 years...so the search continues..and to make things worse..the cemetery robert remembers his father being buried in told us they have no record of him being there...so we have to go over to michigan to find out for ourselves...

ok enough of the rambling of me

hope everyone is doing well..

hiya sharyna....gawd mate i still would do the info pass ...if it is close by that is..but i do hope they are able to help you with any questions you fire at them...

take care

kath

edited due to a condition they call forgetfullness lol forgot to put the link in lol

kath, thanks so much! i'll check out these links. i'm sorry to hear about your husband's aunt. alzheimer's is such a devastating illness for everyone involved.

[kaffy 2]

Hey guys what time is the Consulate in Sydney open from?

I have a 9am appointment for my visa and want to arrive a little earlier

We had a 9am appointment for our K1 visa but went early. We got there at about 7:45 and they let us through. We actually did our interview long before our appointment even started. I think officially they open at 8am.

Great thanks! I fly in at 7.30 so I might just head straight there from the airport

[Rings 10]

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to drop in and see how people were progressing. Kath, you are always very informative and so helpful to others. I hope everyone is well. Things are going good for Loke and I. He got a job at the local radio station which is really exciting! I am not sure how he did his taxes, but I know he submitted something to them earlier in the year and will probably do so again soon. I am just thankful that he understands it hahaha. Other than that, things are really well and life is moving.

We think about our visa journey friends a lot and hope you are all doing well.

xoxoxoxoxoxxoxox

Rings and Loke

[Katz 0]

Hey guys! It's been a long while since I've been here. How is everyone going? Life has been so busy since I got my visa and finally moved to the USA! My husband and I got married on June 28th, and everything has been wonderful since. Well, after weeks of constantly putting it off, we're finally getting our butts motivated to do the AOS. LOL. It looks fairly straight-forward, but I do have one question which I hope someone can help me with. On the I-485 (well, all forms actually), do I have to put down my maiden name, or my married name? (My original Social Security card had my maiden name on it, but I recently got it changed to my new married name - the new card arrived in the mail about three days ago.) I'm a little confused about that bit.

Thanks!