K-1 Visa, U.S citizen living in Ireland, no place of residence in US

[JustAlexandra 0]

Hi there,

I was wondering would anyone be able to help me.

I am just starting out the whole K-1 Visa process, and I am stuck already, my fiancé is an American citizen but is

living in Ireland for the past 20 years, so when he goes to fill in the place of residence in the U.S. he doesnt have one, he has a job here but not in the America. We do have savings though.

Has anyone else come up across this? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Also where does he file the petition since we are both living in Ireland.

Thank you

[AnnaMaria 68]

If he has no residence in the states and has been living in Ireland for 20 years, a few things you might get caught on -

1) Has he been filing taxes with the IRS, at least for the past three years? If he is a citizen, it does not matter where he lives or for how long, he is still required to file taxes. If he hasn't, you need to address this.

2) If he has no place of residence, then you can't prove that he has maintained a U.S. Domicile, that could cause issues. Where do you plan on living? Does he have friends or family who will be willing to allow you to stay with them or at least provide a letter that you have a residency there?

[JustAlexandra 0]

He has been paying taxes here in Ireland. He moved over to Ireland when he was 5. Will evidence that he does pay taxes in this country not work?

He does have family in Boston, who would let us use their address, but we are considering moving to New York, could we change address once we moved over? Or will eveything have to be done from Boston, like the AOS?

Thank you very much for your help.

[AnnaMaria 68]

No, he MUST be filing taxes with the IRS in the U.S.

Paying Irish taxes does not relieve him of the responsibility of having a U.S. citizenship i'm afraid. What he can do with those taxes, is use the annual incomes and such to help support his IRS tax returns when he decides to do them, but he still holds responsibility and the income he earns in Ireland needed to be reported to the IRS.

Well, they could write a letter stating you'll have residence there for the duration, and no one can really stop you from the pursuit of happiness in finding your own residence, but he needs to show that he has a domicile there. I'm not sure how strong having just a friend's house would be in consideration of having things to support you have an actual presence in the states.

[usmsbow 796]

Why not get married in Ireland and go that route instead of trying to get a k-1?

[kehills 217]

I'm confused-if neither of you live in the US or have work in the US, and you're both established in Ireland, why are you considering marrying on a VISA that requires you to live in the United States?

[JustAlexandra 0]

My fiancé is American. Born in Boston and we would like to move there. He has just lived in Ireland for over 20 years and we want to start a new life in America.

[kehills 217]

You should probably look into the paths for both VISAs; given your situation, an IR1/CR1 filing is probably the better option.

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

[usmsbow 796]

No, he MUST be filing taxes with the IRS in the U.S.

Paying Irish taxes does not relieve him of the responsibility of having a U.S. citizenship i'm afraid. What he can do with those taxes, is use the annual incomes and such to help support his IRS tax returns when he decides to do them, but he still holds responsibility and the income he earns in Ireland needed to be reported to the IRS.

Well, they could write a letter stating you'll have residence there for the duration, and no one can really stop you from the pursuit of happiness in finding your own residence, but he needs to show that he has a domicile there. I'm not sure how strong having just a friend's house would be in consideration of having things to support you have an actual presence in the states.

Just to clarify: he must file, but it is a form 2555-EZ if he's been earning under the exemption limit (currently $97K), and he won't owe anything, although I do not know what the penalty is for filing late.

[JoelyLeidy 3]

Boy, this is one of those sticky wickets! Being an accountant, i would at least have a consultation concerning his US tax liability.. Even if he doesn't owe, he still has to file. Ithink i would clear this issue up as this will become an issue once he is stateside.

[artattack 4]

The petition will be filed through the Chicago locked box since Dublin no longer does direct consular filing (it stopped in 2011 I think). Because he has lived there so long he has to find a way to prove that he has maintained domicile there, or that he is genuine about re-establishing it. I lived in Ireland for 13 years and I moved back with my family before my husband (who is in the IR-1 process). I had evidence in my AOS that I had maintained driver's license, bank accounts, credit card and I demonstrated that I was genuinely working to re-establish domicile by enrolling my kids in school, moving quotes, insurance quotes, etc.

With regards to the taxes - he MUST file in the states. As a US citizen you are by law required to pay taxes if you work/live in Ireland. I didn't realise this when I first lived there and when I did learn that I filed 4 years of back taxes together (of course it helped that I didn't owe anything). I was never penalised, though that was a good couple years back so things might have changed. There is a tax accountant in Dublin who helps Americans file taxes though I can't recall his name of the top of my head. But I think a friend of mine has used him so I can ask her. When I filed my Irish taxes it was a matter of converting the euro amount on my P60 to dollars and entering that on the 2555ez sheet and then on the 1040 tax form. They never asked for copies of my P60.

[VOL 425]

Why not get married there, and do a DCF Visa

They only take a few weeks to get approved

[artattack 4]

Dublin doesn't do DCF anymore!

[raven52 233]

To me K-1 is not an option, as you need a good immigration attorney, and """I NEVER"" recomment one, but you have severe issues, and back taxes is a major one!

I always recommend K-1.,..,,. not here will not work,...,...,my heart goes out to you, you have to many problems to list here!