Trouble with IRS - Depts = Petition gets denied???

[Vera271087 0]

Hey everyone

My fiance had a lot of trouble the last days with the IRS. He had a court appointment and they convicted him to pay his tax returns back. Its a lot of money that he should pay the next 3 years. Now we are so afraid that they will deny our petition for K1 because of the money problems he has...

What chances do we have right now? Trying to find a Co Sponsor? Wait the next 3 years is no option for the both of us.... For explanation we haven't filled the petition so far but we want to file it soon.

Thanks for help

[az110965 252]

Hey everyone

My fiance had a lot of trouble the last days with the IRS. He had a court appointment and they convicted him to pay his tax returns back. Its a lot of money that he should pay the next 3 years. Now we are so afraid that they will deny our petition for K1 because of the money problems he has...

What chances do we have right now? Trying to find a Co Sponsor? Wait the next 3 years is no option for the both of us.... For explanation we haven't filled the petition so far but we want to file it soon.

Thanks for help

Sounds like your fiance reached what is called an "offer in compromise" with the IRS which is a repayment plan your fiance has to pay. As long as there are repayment arrangements in place then you should not have any problems with the approval.

If he has not filed taxes for the past few years he will need to file those returns - he will need these as proof of income for the I-134.

Neither the USCIS or the Consulate checks a petitioner's credit history nor do they check with the IRS. As long as he has copies of his last 2 tax returns with W-2's you'll be ok.

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

Correct, I think as long as he still has ample income to support the both of you, USCIS and the Consulate don't care if he has debts to pay off. Most Americans have some form of debt anyway, whether it's with the IRS, or with a creditor of some kind (credit cards, medical bills, old utility accounts, etc.). I think what USCIS and the Consulate care about is the amount of income coming in, not what bills need to be paid. If his income isn't completely stable or fluctuates enough that the amount of income he makes isn't consistently 125% of the poverty level, he should consider asking around to find a cosponsor. Hoping for the best for you guys!

-Amy

[Bryan and Isabel 29]

Correct, I think as long as he still has ample income to support the both of you, USCIS and the Consulate don't care if he has debts to pay off. Most Americans have some form of debt anyway, whether it's with the IRS, or with a creditor of some kind (credit cards, medical bills, old utility accounts, etc.). I think what USCIS and the Consulate care about is the amount of income coming in, not what bills need to be paid. If his income isn't completely stable or fluctuates enough that the amount of income he makes isn't consistently 125% of the poverty level, he should consider asking around to find a cosponsor. Hoping for the best for you guys!

-Amy

thats good to know =)

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Sounds like your fiance reached what is called an "offer in compromise" with the IRS which is a repayment plan your fiance has to pay. As long as there are repayment arrangements in place then you should not have any problems with the approval.

If he has not filed taxes for the past few years he will need to file those returns - he will need these as proof of income for the I-134.

Neither the USCIS or the Consulate checks a petitioner's credit history nor do they check with the IRS. As long as he has copies of his last 2 tax returns with W-2's you'll be ok.

This is not entirely correct. They absolutely do check with the IRS

The troubles with the IRS will not directly affect the visa issuance HOWEVER if he has a tax lein (sounds like he has) the amount owed will be deducted from his income for the purpose of calculating his ability to support you. There have been several cases here where a petitioner had to either...

1. Get a co-sponsor OR

2. Pay off the amount in full prior to approval if the consulate does not allow co-sponsors for K-1s OR

3. Abandon the K-1, get married and file a CR-1 where the affidavit goes through the NVC which does allow co-sponsors.

If the amount of the lein he must pay deducted from his annual income STILL keeps him above the poverty thresholds you should be OK, if it does drop him below the poverty threshold then you will need a co-sponsor. There is no need to mention the tax lein on the I-134, nor any other expenses, but just keep that in mind.

The reason they do this...do not forget...is not to assure you are supported. They absolutely DO NOT CARE if you are supported. They CARE that they can get back their money back from your fiance if you do end up on welfare. USCIS can jump ahead of any other lenders for collections EXCEPT the IRS, so they cannot count the amount of money dedicated to the IRS as a "source of income" as it is not available for them to confiscate

He will also need to be current on all his tax returns if he is not already

thats good to know =)

But not correct.

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

This is not entirely correct. They absolutely do check with the IRS

The troubles with the IRS will not directly affect the visa issuance HOWEVER if he has a tax lein (sounds like he has) the amount owed will be deducted from his income for the purpose of calculating his ability to support you. There have been several cases here where a petitioner had to either...

1. Get a co-sponsor OR

2. Pay off the amount in full prior to approval if the consulate does not allow co-sponsors for K-1s OR

3. Abandon the K-1, get married and file a CR-1 where the affidavit goes through the NVC which does allow co-sponsors.

If the amount of the lein he must pay deducted from his annual income STILL keeps him above the poverty thresholds you should be OK, if it does drop him below the poverty threshold then you will need a co-sponsor. There is no need to mention the tax lein on the I-134, nor any other expenses, but just keep that in mind.

The reason they do this...do not forget...is not to assure you are supported. They absolutely DO NOT CARE if you are supported. They CARE that they can get back their money back from your fiance if you do end up on welfare. USCIS can jump ahead of any other lenders for collections EXCEPT the IRS, so they cannot count the amount of money dedicated to the IRS as a "source of income" as it is not available for them to confiscate

He will also need to be current on all his tax returns if he is not already

But not correct.

Thanks for the clarification, Gary!

-Amy

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

I've never known of the Service to "check" with the IRS.

I think what happens is evidence of these liens turn up on financial documents presented with the I134, alerting the consulate to the situation.

[az110965 252]

I've never known of the Service to "check" with the IRS.

I think what happens is evidence of these liens turn up on financial documents presented with the I134, alerting the consulate to the situation.

Same here. I've never heard of DOS interfacing with the IRS. About the only way I could see a problem is if the petioner has a warrant out for him for federal tax evasion - then it would trigger a hit on the databases checked at the USCIS or NVC phase.

Perhaps it's a new policy?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Same here. I've never heard of DOS interfacing with the IRS. About the only way I could see a problem is if the petioner has a warrant out for him for federal tax evasion - then it would trigger a hit on the databases checked at the USCIS or NVC phase.

Perhaps it's a new policy?

There was one in particular which went on for some time in the Bangkok consulate. The petitioner did not reveal that he had a tax lien but they did find it out. It was a lein in place and was being paid on, there was no evasion or criminal activity involved. They deducted the entire balance of the lein from the petitioners annual income which disqualified him as a sponsor.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I've never known of the Service to "check" with the IRS.

I think what happens is evidence of these liens turn up on financial documents presented with the I134, alerting the consulate to the situation.

Some consulates routinely run a check on the petitioner through LexisNexis. The reports will contain, among other things, a list of liens against the petitioner, including tax liens. It also contains public records such as business licenses, insurance claims, property rentals, arrest and conviction records, etc.

It used to be possible for individuals to get a free copy of their own report through ChoicePoint, but that has now been absorbed into LexisNexis risk solutions. I was advised by a fairly well known immigration attorney to obtain one of these reports for myself. In his words, "This is likely what the consulate is reading about you. DOS & USCIS use it for data base checks."

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Some consulates routinely run a check on the petitioner through LexisNexis. The reports will contain, among other things, a list of liens against the petitioner, including tax liens. It also contains public records such as business licenses, insurance claims, property rentals, arrest and conviction records, etc.

It used to be possible for individuals to get a free copy of their own report through ChoicePoint, but that has now been absorbed into LexisNexis risk solutions. I was advised by a fairly well known immigration attorney to obtain one of these reports for myself. In his words, "This is likely what the consulate is reading about you. DOS & USCIS use it for data base checks."

Interesting.

[Vera271087 0]

Sorry but I still don't understand. Is that what Gary and Alla said right? Means the chance that our petition is getting approved is very very small because of the money problems?

[Bsze 50]

The chances of your petition being approved is very, very small if you do not address the money issue. As such, your fiance should find out for sure if he has a tax lien against him. If he does and if his income is now below the poverty threshold as a result of the lien, then you have several options as Gary pointed out.

1. Get a co-sponsor OR

2. Pay off the amount in full prior to approval if the consulate does not allow co-sponsors for K-1s OR

3. Abandon the K-1, get married and file a CR-1 where the affidavit goes through the NVC which does allow co-sponsors.

You can check the Germany portal to see if the embassy there accepts co-sponsors. If they do, your fiance can line a co-sponsor whose income is sufficient. Or you can choose the CR1 route which gives you a green card upon or shortly after your arrival in the US. You can then find a job and help to pay off the lien sooner rather than waiting the 5 to 8 months for the AOS after K1.

Edited November 8, 2011 by Bsze

[Vera271087 0]

thanks a lot for this explanation

[Highyella72 11]

I had an overpayment with the IRS in 2009 for $3500. I am currently on a payment plan and it hasn't been an issue in this process. I am guessing the only problem would be not having the IRS tax returns when showing ability to support. So, I don't know if they actually do check with the IRS and as far as lexus nexus...because I used to be a bill collector, it is used basically to skip trace a person to find out telephone numbers and addresses of people, and where they hold accounts. LEXUS doesn't show the amount you hold with any company.