MEGATHREAD Government shut down(merged)

[NikLR 13,220]

1 hour ago, tramontana said:

Hello all,

 

I am abroad currently visiting family. I will be traveling back home next week with my expired card, extension letter, and other documents (ex. name change upon marriage). To assure myself I went on the CBP site to have an electronic copy of the Carrier Information Guide (just as a precaution) and I see there are alerts at the top of the page talking about the government shutdown:

 

Lapse in Federal Funding Impact on CBP Website Operations Notice

NOTICE: Due to the lapse in federal funding, this website will not be actively managed. This website was last updated on December 21, 2018 and will not be updated until after funding is enacted. As such, information on this website may not be up to date. Transactions submitted via this website might not be processed and we will not be able to respond to inquiries until after appropriations are enacted.

 

 

To those that have flown and arrived in the States since the shutdown, what has been your experience? Another question is, are there less officers at passport processing? In the past shutdowns, CBP/USCIS effected negatively?

Thank you.

 

Link to the Guide: https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2017-Nov/carrier-information-guide-english.pdf

The website isn't being updated, that's it.  CBP at borders and airports continue to function regardless because they are essential employees.  Tourism etc doesn't stop, normal people don't stop, just because the govt shuts down over a stupid issue. 

Edited December 30, 2018 by NikLR

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

14 hours ago, NikLR said:

FAA so DOT

We will see on his next pay day if he's getting paid or not for work he's currently doing.  He was told he wasn't so we will see.   

He obviously was paid for his last work period, but early because of the holiday on a Tuesday.  

When I worked with DOI we always got paid on a Tuesday as well. Now I get paid on Thursday afternoons. It's like the money doesn't come through until after 1pm Eastern which sucks.

[tramontana 11]

Thanks for your kind replies.

[Sailormooon 268]

Hi! I'm trying to file for AOS and my k1 is going to be expired on the 10th of January. Me and my spouse have already married within the 90 day timeframe, so if I'm correct, we can file for AOS even after the expiry date. My question is, one of the requirements for AOS is to get the tax transcripts from the iRS. unfortunately we can't get them online nor by mail at the moment as all offices are shut due to government budget issues? What shall we do? Please help

[TBoneTX 43,058]

The post just above has been merged into this megathread.

Edited January 3, 2019 by TBoneTX

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

50 minutes ago, Tea_pgtips said:

Hi! I'm trying to file for AOS and my k1 is going to be expired on the 10th of January. Me and my spouse have already married within the 90 day timeframe, so if I'm correct, we can file for AOS even after the expiry date. My question is, one of the requirements for AOS is to get the tax transcripts from the iRS. unfortunately we can't get them online nor by mail at the moment as all offices are shut due to government budget issues? What shall we do? Please help

As far as I know the IRS is still funded. I just checked the website and the transcript part is down for maintenance. Yes you can file for AOS after the 90 day window without issues. 

Edited January 3, 2019 by Cyberfx1024

[Sailormooon 268]

11 minutes ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

As far as I know the IRS is still funded. I just checked the website and the transcript part is down for maintenance. Yes you can file for AOS after the 90 day window without issues. 

Its not. It says it’s down for maitanence but on another area it says due to budget reasons the offices are shut. I tried to ring them and I got the same message. All of the offices are shut

 

[Wuozopo 4,285]

On 12/14/2018 at 7:19 PM, Dave&Kal said:

I have interview next month! What happens if the president decides that he likes to shut down the government over his dream wall! Should i consider the interview cancelled and if it goes on pending? How longer could it take to be re-scheduled? Would they let me know there is a change of date in advance while they are shut down? I mean what should i be expecting? Any idea?

Do you have a copy of last year's tax return and the W2 that goes with it? Send a photocopy of that.

[usmsbow 795]

On 1/3/2019 at 9:20 AM, Cyberfx1024 said:

As far as I know the IRS is still funded. I just checked the website and the transcript part is down for maintenance. Yes you can file for AOS after the 90 day window without issues. 

Nope, Dept of Treasury (including IRS) is not funded. If the shutdown continues, 2018 tax refunds will be delayed. Good times! 

 

On 1/3/2019 at 9:33 AM, Tea_pgtips said:

Its not. It says it’s down for maitanence but on another area it says due to budget reasons the offices are shut. I tried to ring them and I got the same message. All of the offices are shut

 

Yep, that is correct. My wife works in the mortgage industry, and some of her pending loan applications are stalled due to an inability to get applicants' tax transcripts. 

[syrinx128 5]

59 minutes ago, usmsbow said:

On 1/3/2019 at 12:33 PM, Tea_pgtips said:

 

Yep, that is correct. My wife works in the mortgage industry, and some of her pending loan applications are stalled due to an inability to get applicants' tax transcripts. 

 I'm a CPA and indeed, everything's pretty much down. About 12% of the IRS is still showing up, and those that are still there are not dealing with things like transcripts or non-seasonal tax questions. We can't even efile returns or fax power of attorney forms. Between this and the tax overhaul (to my knowledge the 2018 forms aren't even finalized), us accountants are in for a heck of a filing season. 😭 

Maybe it's better my fiance can't come to the States until June. I miss him very much but if he came here much sooner, who knows what terrifying creature he'd be coming home to. 🤪

 

I'm on the I-134 now and not 100% sure how the AOS works, but I agree with @Wuozopo - if the shutdown continues your best bet would be to send complete copies of your prior year returns (however many years you're supposed to go back) , the W-2s and/or 1099's (depending on whether you're an employee or run a business), and any other supporting documentation you think might help to prove your income.

[Sailormooon 268]

11 hours ago, syrinx128 said:

 I'm a CPA and indeed, everything's pretty much down. About 12% of the IRS is still showing up, and those that are still there are not dealing with things like transcripts or non-seasonal tax questions. We can't even efile returns or fax power of attorney forms. Between this and the tax overhaul (to my knowledge the 2018 forms aren't even finalized), us accountants are in for a heck of a filing season. 😭 

Maybe it's better my fiance can't come to the States until June. I miss him very much but if he came here much sooner, who knows what terrifying creature he'd be coming home to. 🤪

 

I'm on the I-134 now and not 100% sure how the AOS works, but I agree with @Wuozopo - if the shutdown continues your best bet would be to send complete copies of your prior year returns (however many years you're supposed to go back) , the W-2s and/or 1099's (depending on whether you're an employee or run a business), and any other supporting documentation you think might help to prove your income.

Ah I’m so glad youre an accountant! You’re the perfect person to ask. My spouses tax return is HUGE because he’s an ophthalmologist so he has dividends, interest, 3 k1’s and it’s just a huge massive file to send. Do I take photocopies of all of this and send it? It is so thick lol

[NikLR 13,220]

4 minutes ago, Tea_pgtips said:

Ah I’m so glad youre an accountant! You’re the perfect person to ask. My spouses tax return is HUGE because he’s an ophthalmologist so he has dividends, interest, 3 k1’s and it’s just a huge massive file to send. Do I take photocopies of all of this and send it? It is so thick lol

Yup if you cant get a tax return transcript then you must take a photocopy of the entire tax return 

[payxibka 10,044]

4 hours ago, Tea_pgtips said:

Ah I’m so glad youre an accountant! You’re the perfect person to ask. My spouses tax return is HUGE because he’s an ophthalmologist so he has dividends, interest, 3 k1’s and it’s just a huge massive file to send. Do I take photocopies of all of this and send it? It is so thick lol

Even the biggest tax return pales in comparison to some I-129F filers who send three reams of chat messages with there petition 

[syrinx128 5]

4 hours ago, Tea_pgtips said:

Ah I’m so glad youre an accountant! You’re the perfect person to ask. My spouses tax return is HUGE because he’s an ophthalmologist so he has dividends, interest, 3 k1’s and it’s just a huge massive file to send. Do I take photocopies of all of this and send it? It is so thick lol

@Tea_pgtips Ideally whole returns are good, but I know what you're saying, once you start adding all that stuff the size of the returns can get a little ridiculous, haha. 

 

Just a disclosure, I'm not at this point so I don't claim to be an expert as to what the USCIS wants. But if it were me, I would guess the things you REALLY want to focus on are any parts of the return that are showing his income sources and where they come from - so the main 1040, Schedule B, Schedule C (if he had one), Schedule D, and Schedule E. If his return has a ton of "See Statement ##"s throughout,  I'd send the corresponding statements, too. 

 

In addition to any W-2s, you'll probably want to include copies of his K-1s (especially if he practices within a partnership or S-corp as a lot of medical folks do), and maybe the 1099s from the brokerage if it makes up a significant part of his income.

 

I would think you could leave out any informational worksheets or forms showing calculations or tax credits, since those are more tax related and not actually proving anything as far as income. Those things are often what make the returns really big, so if you take them out and just have the schedules mentioned above and any significant supporting documents, hopefully you're left with something a little more manageable. 🙂

 

Edited January 5, 2019 by syrinx128

[syrinx128 5]

5 hours ago, NikLR said:

Yup if you cant get a tax return transcript then you must take a photocopy of the entire tax return 

Just saw this after I posted the above and I can't edit my answer. 😜 My thought was that maybe you could just show the parts that would show on the transcripts, but if they specify the entire return must be submitted, then you will need to include all forms and schedules. If anything is labeled a worksheet, it is actually not part of the return itself (they are for your own information and are not filed with the IRS) so those things, you could leave out still. It would be up to you to decide whether it would be worth the time to weed all of those worksheets out or if it would be easier to just copy everything as it and send it off.