FILED SINGLE

[Kay-che 0]

IS A BIG PROBLEM IF SOMEONE FILED AS SINGLE AND THEY ARE IN FACT MARRIED????

[Ryan H 3,790]

I have seen posts from people who filed single when they were married and then saw their spouse get denied a visa because the CO did not believe the marriage was legitimate.

[jkelly07 120]

correct if your married and file as single, your not truthful to the irs, when in fact you are married.

[EAbbas 213]

The only options for filing with IRS is:

Single

Married filing jointly

Married filing separately

Head of household (which if your married to a non resident alien can be used if you have other qualifying dependents)

I filed Head of Household bcos I have 3 young children.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf

Edited June 12, 2011 by EAbbas

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

I filed single the first year that I was married, it didn't make a diffrence to the embassy. I did not file as married until my husband reached US soil.( I didn't need the married tax break) You can always adjust your prior year tax filing status.

[miranda0419 0]

I filed single the first year that I was married, it didn't make a diffrence to the embassy. I did not file as married until my husband reached US soil.( I didn't need the married tax break) You can always adjust your prior year tax filing status.

Its actually the same reason of my husband, he said that his accountant advised him to file single and that he can always adjust his status once I'm already in the US. However, the consul questioned me about this and requested a written explanation from my husband why he didn't change his status in his IRS.

Will the consul accept the explanation that since I am not in the US by the time of filing, he opted to file single because filing married will require me to have a SSN which is impossible at that time.

Can anyone help me with this? thanks a lot

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Its actually the same reason of my husband, he said that his accountant advised him to file single and that he can always adjust his status once I'm already in the US. However, the consul questioned me about this and requested a written explanation from my husband why he didn't change his status in his IRS.

Will the consul accept the explanation that since I am not in the US by the time of filing, he opted to file single because filing married will require me to have a SSN which is impossible at that time.

Can anyone help me with this? thanks a lot

Your husband can obtain an Individual Taxpayer ID Number (ITIN) for you which can be used in lieu of a Social Security number for tax filing. Many US citizens who marry abroad do this while they're waiting for their spouse to get a visa.

I don't know how you could explain this to the consulate. You're not supposed to file "single" if you are, in fact, married.

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

Your husband can obtain an Individual Taxpayer ID Number (ITIN) for you which can be used in lieu of a Social Security number for tax filing. Many US citizens who marry abroad do this while they're waiting for their spouse to get a visa.

I don't know how you could explain this to the consulate. You're not supposed to file "single" if you are, in fact, married.

Filing status for taxes have nothing to do with immigration. According to my professional tax accountant. Therefore the IRS was glad to have me pay more in taxes as a filing status of single. I was not taking care of my husband financially, therefore I had no need at that time to claim him as a dependent on my taxes. Since my accountant prepared and signed off on my taxes, I believe he knows more about the tax laws than I or IBB.

NVC, nor the embassy questioned my tax status, nor were there any concerns, maybe because my income was more greater than required.

[Ryan H 3,790]

it didn't make a diffrence to the embassy.

nor the embassy questioned my tax status, nor were there any concerns,

I really think it depends on the individual Embassy or Consulate. The Embassy in Kingston in your case or the Embassy in Asuncion, Paraguay in the case of another poster on another thread regarding this issue, tax status turned out not to be a problem.

However, I would be willing to bet a large sum of money that if this had been in Lagos or Casablanca, the outcome would have been different.

IMO, if someone is going through an Embassy or Consulate that is known for high fraud, putting your tax status as single when you are married is asking for trouble, regardless of what a CPA or a tax preparer at H&R Block says. While they would be very familiar with tax law, they will probably have no clue as to the inner workings of individual IV units at Embassies and Consulates overseas.

On the other hand, if the Embassy or Consulate is known for low fraud, then I think it becomes more of a gray area. It may or may not be an issue to a CO.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Filing status for taxes have nothing to do with immigration. According to my professional tax accountant. Therefore the IRS was glad to have me pay more in taxes as a filing status of single. I was not taking care of my husband financially, therefore I had no need at that time to claim him as a dependent on my taxes. Since my accountant prepared and signed off on my taxes, I believe he knows more about the tax laws than I or IBB.

NVC, nor the embassy questioned my tax status, nor were there any concerns, maybe because my income was more greater than required.

Your professional tax accountant isn't liable for the penalties or the potential perjury charges for filing a false return. Under IRS rules, you are "single" if you are unmarried, divorced, or widowed on the last day of the tax year.

Not everyone who files single will pay more. Married couples generally pay less by filing a joint return, but will pay more than a comparable single person if they, for whatever reason, choose to file separate returns. This is the so-called "marriage penalty", and many married people have been caught by the IRS filing "single" status returns in order to try to avoid the additional taxes they would owe if they filed as "married, filing separately".

The IRS is always happy to accept a higher tax payment from a taxpayer, but you don't have to change your filing status in order to pay more taxes. You simply don't claim deductions or exemptions you're otherwise eligible to claim. You're also welcome to make gifts to the US government to help reduce the public debt.

[DaveE111 10]

Here is a lady that posted today that was sent home without a visa because her husband filed as single instead of married.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/314713-irs-2010-filed-single-ground-for-refusalcan-someone-pls-help-me-fix-it/