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Blackmagic

Can I file married filing separately while my husband files head of household?

By Blackmagic in Tax & Finances During US Immigration

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arken Mentor

arken   4,197

Posted
Filed: F-2A Visa Country: Nepal
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Posted
3 minutes ago, arken said:

Yeah, HOH filing means your spouse has considered himself as unmarried, doesn’t look good for immigration purpose.

 

 

 

1 minute ago, payxibka said:

Absolutely not an issue.   Anyone can choose to take advantage of any available tax status that provides the minimum tax liability 

I agree to disagree. Claiming unmarried for tax purpose and married for immigration purpose may be an issue.

 

On top of that, OP said they live together, so it is in fact a tax fraud, not just taking advantage of the available status. So recommend to do tax amend to MFJ or MFS.

Spouse:

2015-06-16: I-130 Sent

2015-08-17: I-130 approved

2015-09-23: NVC received file

2015-10-05: NVC assigned Case number, Invoice ID & Beneficiary ID

2016-06-30: DS-261 completed, AOS Fee Paid, WL received

2016-07-05: Received IV invoice, IV Fee Paid

2016-07-06: DS-260 Submitted

2016-07-07: AOS and IV Package mailed

2016-07-08: NVC Scan

2016-08-08: Case Complete

2017-06-30: Interview, approved

2017-07-04: Visa in hand

2017-08-01: Entry to US

.

.

.

.

Myself:

2016-05-10: N-400 Sent

2016-05-16: N-400 NOA1

2016-05-26: Biometrics

2017-01-30: Interview

2017-03-02: Oath Ceremony

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payxibka Grand Master

payxibka   10,044

Posted
Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Philippines
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Posted
Just now, arken said:

 

I agree to disagree. Claiming unmarried for tax purpose and married for immigration purpose may be an issue.

 

On top of that, OP said they live together, so it is in fact a tax fraud, not just taking advantage of the available status. So recommend to do tax amend to MFJ or MFS.

I said available,  if they are not eligible then it is not available 

YMMV

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geowrian Grand Master

geowrian   22,336

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Filed: Lift. Cond. (pnd) Country: Philippines
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Posted (edited)
7 minutes ago, arken said:

I agree to disagree. Claiming unmarried for tax purpose and married for immigration purpose may be an issue.

If the IRS rule to be considered unmarried said any 6 months instead of the last 6 months, and the intending immigrant didn't come to the US until after July, why would that be an issue?

Unmarried for tax purposes has no bearing on marriage for immigration purposes.

 

The issue here (besides those with the IRS), obviously, is that it does say last 6 months. Claiming to having not lived together within the past 6 months would raise some concerns.

Edited by geowrian

Timelines:

ROC:

Spoiler

7/27/20: Sent forms to Dallas lockbox, 7/30/20: Received by USCIS, 8/10 NOA1 electronic notification received, 8/1/ NOA1 hard copy received

AOS:

Spoiler

AOS (I-485 + I-131 + I-765):

9/25/17: sent forms to Chicago, 9/27/17: received by USCIS, 10/4/17: NOA1 electronic notification received, 10/10/17: NOA1 hard copy received. Social Security card being issued in married name (3rd attempt!)

10/14/17: Biometrics appointment notice received, 10/25/17: Biometrics

1/2/18: EAD + AP approved (no website update), 1/5/18: EAD + AP mailed, 1/8/18: EAD + AP approval notice hardcopies received, 1/10/18: EAD + AP received

9/5/18: Interview scheduled notice, 10/17/18: Interview

10/24/18: Green card produced notice, 10/25/18: Formal approval, 10/31/18: Green card received

K-1:

Spoiler

I-129F

12/1/16: sent, 12/14/16: NOA1 hard copy received, 3/10/17: RFE (IMB verification), 3/22/17: RFE response received

3/24/17: Approved! , 3/30/17: NOA2 hard copy received

 

NVC

4/6/2017: Received, 4/12/2017: Sent to Riyadh embassy, 4/16/2017: Case received at Riyadh embassy, 4/21/2017: Request case transfer to Manila, approved 4/24/2017

 

K-1

5/1/2017: Case received by Manila (1 week embassy transfer??? Lucky~)

7/13/2017: Interview: APPROVED!!!

7/19/2017: Visa in hand

8/15/2017: POE

 

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Crazy Cat Grand Master

Crazy Cat   39,400

Posted
Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Taiwan
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10 minutes ago, payxibka said:

I said available,  if they are not eligible then it is not available 

In this particular case, it is not legally available, and it would raise questions at the AOS interview, imho....but I certainly agree that it is neither illegal nor immoral to pay as little taxes as legally allowed...

"The US immigration process requires a great deal of knowledge, planning, time, patience, and a significant amount of money.  It is quite a journey!"

- Some old child of the 50's & 60's on his laptop 

 

Senior Master Sergeant, US Air Force- Retired (after 20+ years)- Missile Systems Maintenance & Titan 2 ICBM Launch Crew Duty (200+ Alert tours)

Registered Nurse- Retired- I practiced in the areas of Labor & Delivery, Home Health, Adolescent Psych, & Adult Psych.

IT Professional- Retired- Web Site Design, Hardware Maintenance, Compound Pharmacy Software Trainer, On-site go live support, Database Manager, App Designer.

______________________________________

August 7, 2022: Wife filed N-400 Online under 5 year rule.

November 10, 2022: Received "Interview is scheduled" letter.

December 12, 2022:  Received email from Dallas office informing me (spouse) to be there for combo interview.

December 14, 2022: Combo Interview for I-751 and N-400 Conducted.

January 26, 2023: Wife's Oath Ceremony completed at the Plano Event Center, Plano, Texas!!!😁

February 6, 2023: Wife's Passport Application submitted in Dallas, Texas.

March 21, 2023:   Wife's Passport Delivered!!!!

May 15, 2023 (about):  Naturalization Certificate returned from Passport agency!!

 

In summary, it took 13 months for approval of the CR-1.  It took 44 months for approval of the I-751.  It took 4 months for approval of the N-400.   It took 172 days from N-400 application to Oath Ceremony.   It took 6 weeks for Passport, then 7 additional weeks for return of wife's Naturalization Certificate.. 
 

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arken Mentor

arken   4,197

Posted
Filed: F-2A Visa Country: Nepal
 Timeline
Posted
13 minutes ago, geowrian said:

If the IRS rule to be considered unmarried said any 6 months instead of the last 6 months, and the intending immigrant didn't come to the US until after July, why would that be an issue?

Unmarried for tax purposes has no bearing on marriage for immigration purposes.

 

The issue here (besides those with the IRS), obviously, is that it does say last 6 months. Claiming to having not lived together within the past 6 months would raise some concerns.

Yes, if it was any 6 months, it would be an non issue. 

Spouse:

2015-06-16: I-130 Sent

2015-08-17: I-130 approved

2015-09-23: NVC received file

2015-10-05: NVC assigned Case number, Invoice ID & Beneficiary ID

2016-06-30: DS-261 completed, AOS Fee Paid, WL received

2016-07-05: Received IV invoice, IV Fee Paid

2016-07-06: DS-260 Submitted

2016-07-07: AOS and IV Package mailed

2016-07-08: NVC Scan

2016-08-08: Case Complete

2017-06-30: Interview, approved

2017-07-04: Visa in hand

2017-08-01: Entry to US

.

.

.

.

Myself:

2016-05-10: N-400 Sent

2016-05-16: N-400 NOA1

2016-05-26: Biometrics

2017-01-30: Interview

2017-03-02: Oath Ceremony

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nastra30 Experienced

nastra30   2,005

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Ghana
 Timeline
Posted

Imo, I think the stipulations to file as HOH is a no brainer. But because of greed people try to skirt the system.

IRS has a nifty tool that will tell you your exact filing status. Your husband should answer honestly and see.

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/what-is-my-filing-status

 

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arken Mentor

arken   4,197

Posted
Filed: F-2A Visa Country: Nepal
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Posted

Well, back to the beginning. Does the following apply to OP’s case? If it applies, then probably no need to do anything for OP’s spouse tax filing and she may simply file MFS. 

 

From IRS:

Nonresident alien spouse.

You are considered unmarried for head of household purposes if your spouse was a nonresident alien at any time during the year and you don't choose to treat your nonresident spouse as a resident alien. However, your spouse isn't a qualifying person for head of household purposes. You must have another qualifying person and meet the other tests to be eligible to file as head of household. 

Choice to treat spouse as resident.

 

You are considered married if you choose to treat your spouse as a resident alien. See chapter 1 of Pub. 519.

Spouse:

2015-06-16: I-130 Sent

2015-08-17: I-130 approved

2015-09-23: NVC received file

2015-10-05: NVC assigned Case number, Invoice ID & Beneficiary ID

2016-06-30: DS-261 completed, AOS Fee Paid, WL received

2016-07-05: Received IV invoice, IV Fee Paid

2016-07-06: DS-260 Submitted

2016-07-07: AOS and IV Package mailed

2016-07-08: NVC Scan

2016-08-08: Case Complete

2017-06-30: Interview, approved

2017-07-04: Visa in hand

2017-08-01: Entry to US

.

.

.

.

Myself:

2016-05-10: N-400 Sent

2016-05-16: N-400 NOA1

2016-05-26: Biometrics

2017-01-30: Interview

2017-03-02: Oath Ceremony

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bakphx1 Proficient

bakphx1   785

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Honduras
 Timeline
Posted
18 hours ago, payxibka said:

Absolutely not an issue.   Anyone can choose to take advantage of any available tax status that provides the minimum tax liability 

I think you mean any “applicable” tax status.

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