They want to see if you're filing your taxes!!

[SabrinaJerome 52]

3 minutes ago, arken said:

Try to understand the statement correctly. It means "if your income is below the IRS required level which will typically be below poverty level, you don't need to file and you can just mention thag to NVC with proof and NVC won't ask for your 2016 return. In that case you will need joint sponsor anyway.

Based on your description, you earn decent money that you can support your beneficiary by yourself in which case you as a sponsor have to submit the 2016 tax return (docs or transcript) to NVC.

Yes I will try to understand the statement correctly lol

I would not need a joint sponsor because like I explained at the beginning of this thread, I have enough assets to not even bother with using income as my proof of ability to support.

But yes they still want to see a return if you are required to file. I am required to file because I made over $4,050 (married filing separately)...

 

Now, here's the really funny part. The W2 form I sent shows that I did NOT MEET THE POVERTY GUIDELINE MINIMUM for 2016, because I only started working in the fall of 2016. So my income does not even prove that I can support my family member. That's why I sent documentation of assets. 

[SabrinaJerome 52]

9 minutes ago, NikLR said:

are you genuinely asking why you have to send them or just complaining that you do?

heehehee  yes I was genuinely asking, and what seems to have come through this thread is that when I was preparing the NVC packages the most current tax year was indeed 2015. So I did what they said. But like someone above said, by the time it was received, the most current was 2016... gahhhh...

 

But I guess my complaint is that the actually very nice and sympathetic agent couldn't give me a reason that had anything to do with supporting my husband.

I didn't meet the poverty guidelines but provided proof of assets that shows I can support him.

Maybe she should've just said, "Ma'am, it's now May 2017 and you have to file 2016 because that's what the rules say. Plus we need to delay your case because we are so overworked and underpaid and the system is backed up terribly, so we're just going to put you at the back of the line again so we can justify your case taking almost a year and a half to process."

So...to answer your question... both. lol  and nowwww I'm going to bed. 

[A'n'L 735]

They ask for a copy of the primary sponsor's (spouse) most recent tax return, even when a joint sponsor is used. The reason goes beyond demonstrating your financial situation. Spousal immigration is a US benefit, filing taxes is a duty. They want to see that you fulfill your end of the deal.

[mrtravel 40]

14 hours ago, SabrinaJerome said:

 

Me: I don't see how that supports my case at all. I didn't file taxes because the government owes me a ton of money and I wanted to wait until my husband got his SS number so I didn't have to file twice, the second time being an amendment, from married filing separately to married filing jointly.

You can file a joint return with the form for requesting a taxpayer id number.  

 

 

[B&Z 201]

11 hours ago, SabrinaJerome said:

Indeed! Evading!! Yikes!

 

That's why I sent 2015. Because I have always been a good 'Merikan - a public servant even. And I have always paid my taxes... ohhh have I paid taxes.

 

I would love to see the day when the IRS comes looking for me because they owe me $300 from 2011... because they did and I didn't file. Never heard a word. Funny that.

Paying taxes monthly through your paycheck and filing your income taxes afterward by the deadline are two different things. You won't get anything back from the IRS if you don't file your income taxes...hence why you'll never see that $300 from 2011 because you never filed and now you're past the 3 year span in which you could still file and get a refund. Regardless of whether the IRS owes you a refund or not, you still are required to file for an extension by the April deadline. Those are the rules, and you only get a 6-month extension anyway. There's no guarantee your spouse would arrive and get his SSN by that deadline.

 

Your options are to file married filing separate using "NRA" as his SSN and later file a 1040X amendment (you have up to 3 years to file the amendment), or you can fill out the forms as married filing jointly and send his passport + ITIN application along with your income tax forms when you file them.

[jan22 2,918]

11 hours ago, SabrinaJerome said:

Like I said, I wanted to file Married filing jointly, but you need his ITIN or SSN to do that. 

By the time I would get a ITIN he would already be here and have a SSN.

We were married in 2015, if that's your question... not sure. ("filing status")... did I answer your question? 

Was thinking that, since you lived apart from your husband for at least the last 6 months of the tax year, you don't qualify to file jointly....but then I remembered the exception for non-resident alien.  It was too late to edit my post by then....sorry!

[JFH 12,189]

There are many things we have to do in this process that seem to make no sense to us. I agree with you on that sentiment. At the medical in London last November I had my eyesight tested. Why??? Nowhere does it say that immigrant visa holders must have perfect vision or that USCs can only marry foreigners with perfect vision. I wear glasses all the time. I only take them off to sleep and shower. I walked into the medical wearing glasses and they wanted to test my eyesight! Dead giveaway that my eyesight is not good was the pair of glasses I was wearing. But we just get on with it and do it. 

 

The financial requirements confuse me also. I understand the point of ensuring that immigrants will be supported and not become s public charge, blah, blah, blah. But I don't understand why a spouse on a CR-1 or IR-1 who is eligible to work from day one has a greater burden of proof to demonstrate when it comes to financial support than a fiancé who cannot work for months and has an AOS to pay for also. We see on these forums and others many more K-1 couples going through financial hardship than CR-1/IR-1. I have lost count of how many times I have seen posts where they are asking how to get the EAD quicker because they are struggling or how late they can file AOS because they can't afford it. I had a job offer before I arrived (even before I went to my interview) and started work within 2 weeks of arrival in the country at said company, making double what my husband makes. Yet we spouses have to jump through hoops with a legally binding I-864 but fiancés only have to provide an I-134 and have no chance of income for at least 3 months. I fail to see the logic in that. 

Edited May 12, 2017 by JFH

[JusticeWarrior 3]

17 hours ago, SabrinaJerome said:

I see your point, and I guess because I started the NVC packages in Nov-Dec of last year, the most current tax year was 2015. When my husband finally got his police certificate it was February so that's how I sent it in.

And besides, I didn't even need to show income since the bank account would've sufficed. Many people have written that they have not filed for the last x years and didn't need to file.

On the other hand, maybe we should just do what you're saying. He can just come in on his tourist visa and adjust status. I'm so done.

Thanks for your suggestion.

You really don't want him in the country pretending to be a tourist with a preconceived intention to immigrant... that would be classified as a visa fraud! Because he'd have to misrepresent himself to a CBP officer, which could all together put him at risk of deportation. Just follow the rules, I know it sucks but it is what it is... coming from a government where its president hasn't revealed his own tax returns yet.... 

[Cathi 5,624]

Did you seriously just argue with a CO because you didn't like the fact that you're required to submit your tax returns? Casablanca is at the top of the list for one of the most difficult consulates and you're arguing about a requirement. Just wow. Even better you just stated in an open forum, where we know CO's peruse, and you now say your husband will come to the US with a visitor visa and adjust status just because you're pissed that you have to submit required documents. I rarely comment in threads like this, but if you decide to commit visa fraud I hope your husband is deported from the US and banned for life. No one ever said immigration was easy and your contempt for a CO, a man who literally holds you future in his hands, is just plain stupidity.

[Hawksquill 151]

The affidavit of support form specifically says you are REQUIRED (in all caps, if I recall) to submit 2016 returns, and all previous years are explicitly optional. So your submitting 2015 doesn't really mean anything to them.  

[Ash.1101 1,755]

13 hours ago, SabrinaJerome said:

Yes I will try to understand the statement correctly lol

I would not need a joint sponsor because like I explained at the beginning of this thread, I have enough assets to not even bother with using income as my proof of ability to support.

But yes they still want to see a return if you are required to file. I am required to file because I made over $4,050 (married filing separately)...

 

Now, here's the really funny part. The W2 form I sent shows that I did NOT MEET THE POVERTY GUIDELINE MINIMUM for 2016, because I only started working in the fall of 2016. So my income does not even prove that I can support my family member. That's why I sent documentation of assets. 

Just for clarification, you do know how assets work right?

The calculation to show enough?

If you in fact did not make enough in 2016, then along with the W2 you should have sent a statement saying that you made under the threshold to be legally required to file. Expecting them to discern that from any paperwork isn't going to work out. They need a statement from you saying something like this, this is what I used:

 

Quote

STATEMENT REGARDING FORM I-864 PART 6 ITEM 18-20

I, <NAME>, have not included tax returns for the years 2014 and 2015 for the following reasons:

-- in the tax year 2014 my income was $0.00 and according to IRS guidelines I was not required to file a return .
-- in the tax year 2003 my income was $0.00 and according to IRS guidelines I was not required to file a return .



I, <NAME>, certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the information I have provided in this statement is true and correct.

Note, that in 2015 taxes I only made 256$, but I still made sure to file taxes because I was doing the K-1 visa process for my husband and knew it was needed.

Now for the assets.

You have to prove that you have at LEAST 3 times the amount of money that you didn't make for the year they are asking.

So if your W2 shows you only made say 3k, and you need to make 20,300$, then the amount you didn't make for the year is 17,300. Now you have to times that by 3, and that's how much you'll have to prove you have. 

So you would have to show, that if you only made 3k for the year of 2016, that you have AT LEAST 51,900$ in assets.

You have to write these all on the I-864 and provide proof for EVERYTHING you claim. You also need to make sure your proof matches what you're writing on the I-864. If you are including a house or a car appraisal, it has to be appraised by an official appraiser and there has to be documentation attached showing that it was appraised by someone certified to do so. Any kelly blue book values or guesstimates will count as 0$. If there's any items you write on the I-864 that you don't have proof of, it becomes 0, and if you include extra documentation for anything relevant but do not add it into the Part 11. Additional information section on the bottom, it becomes 0.

So again, just to clarify.

(Income needed) - (Income Made) = (Missing income)

(Missing Income) * 3 = Amount in assets needed.

And last but not least, as another poster did say, after 3 years has past you can't get the money back the IRS owes you. So you may have to bite the bullet on this one. When you said that they owed you money I assumed they owed you thousands, but... 300$ isn't that much in tax return terms to end up causing future trouble in other aspects of your life.

Edited May 12, 2017 by Ash.1101

[Ketsuban 1,034]

Amending a tax return later on is no big deal. We amended our 2013 and 2014 returns after I arrived here in November 2014 to married filing joint from married filing separately. Fill out the forms, mail them in, receive refund in a few months. Better to do that than delay the visa and your reunion.

[Love_A_Brit 33]

15 hours ago, SabrinaJerome said:

I would love to see the day when the IRS comes looking for me because they owe me $300 from 2011... because they did and I didn't file. Never heard a word. Funny that.

You are legally required to file income taxes every year, subject to certain exceptions which you probably don't qualify for if you're an attorney.  If you owe the IRS, you pay them.  If they owe you, you receive a refund.  April 15th is the filing deadline, and if you intend to file after that date you must file an extension.  You don't file an extension because you owe the IRS money.  You file one because you've missed the filing deadline, which coincidentally is the same every single year. 

 

Also, I wouldn't brag about not filing tax returns.  The statute of limitations is typically only three years, but the IRS can look back further if you intentionally misrepresented your income (by failure to file or other means).  

 

Seems to me that you just like to challenge the rules, whether it's tax rules or immigration rules.  Do us all a favor and just give them what they ask for so that they can move on to another case.  We're waiting.  

[zizou2017 39]

23 hours ago, SabrinaJerome said:

Hi all,

We got a checklist and the financial support response was that the NVC wants to see my 2016 tax return.

I had sent an abundance of information to show that I can support my husband (W2, tons of paystubs, SS form which shows my salary history, letter from my employer, bank statements which alone show an amount well above what would be required to support 1 person, 2015 return, etc) and so I was curious to know why they needed the 2016 return.

Agent: because they want to see that you're filing your taxes. [she might've said paying but I don't remember] 

Me: I'm sorry, what?

A: they want to see that you're filing taxes

Me: ummm... I don't understand. I've never heard of that in any government directions, forum, etc. How does that prove that I can support my husband?

A: It's not about that. They just want to see that you're ..

Me: That I'm a good and upright citizen?

A: Well, no, it's -

Me: I don't see how that supports my case at all. I didn't file taxes because the government owes me a ton of money and I wanted to wait until my husband got his SS number so I didn't have to file twice, the second time being an amendment, from married filing separately to married filing jointly. I sent the 2015 return, which shows that I file taxes. When I sent my AOS package to the NVC it was February, so I technically had time in which to file by April... I just.... I don't....

A: I'm sorry ma'am that's what they want.

Me: [head explodes]

 

Before I started working I was told that as long as I had enough in the bank I wouldn't even have to show an income. What gives?!?!?

Here in VJ, majority of time we want to be subjective and stay away from judgments and recommendations leading to no substantial help. You said you are only relying on  assets to show your ability to support your spouse. It is up to the embassy to honor that and appropriately review your assets. You are right that a good amount of money that is sitting in the bank is a good to make your case since it can be converted to cash within one year. The point that you are missing here is that it only applies if using that cash to support your spouse will not cause considerable hardship or financial loss.  

 

To put everything in perspective NVC needs and requires you to show your tax return that is a must and arguing around is a dead end. In addition, you mentioned that IRS owes you "ton of money", this is not good. The reason, because that is considered as debt on the cash that you have in the bank. If you subtract that debt, there might be chance the Co might not like the numbers at that time. Another way of thinking about it is: using cars for example as an asset. You can only use a car that is not your primary.

 Let's say you own a Corvette that is appraised for 40k, but you have it financed. Your debt balance is 25k. At that point, it is not a reliable asset to use due to the equity.

 

I would recommend that you first either file your taxes, or apply for an extention....I am not really an expert when it comes to IRS. Plus, just comply with their requirements. If your salary is below 125% poverty guideline, then use your assets.  

[MrChamploo 45]

6 hours ago, mimolicious said:

Did you seriously just argue with a CO because you didn't like the fact that you're required to submit your tax returns? Casablanca is at the top of the list for one of the most difficult consulates and you're arguing about a requirement. Just wow. Even better you just stated in an open forum, where we know CO's peruse, and you now say your husband will come to the US with a visitor visa and adjust status just because you're pissed that you have to submit required documents. I rarely comment in threads like this, but if you decide to commit visa fraud I hope your husband is deported from the US and banned for life. No one ever said immigration was easy and your contempt for a CO, a man who literally holds you future in his hands, is just plain stupidity.

 

Amen.