You can now order IRS Tax Transcripts by phone & mail again!

[Dory 8]

I was super annoyed at how the AOS application asks for this particular form of income-proof, but if you couldn't successfully verify your identity through the IRS website, then you were completely out of luck as the IRS mail & phone order systems were dead due to COVID.

 

I've been checking the IRS Tax Transcript website every day to see when you can order IRS Tax Transcripts (for I-944 purposes...) through a non-online method and sometime in the last 48 hours it all opened up again! There is less info required to order by phone/mail relative to online orders, so if online isn't working for you, then give these methods a shot.

 

To order by phone, call the automated system at (800) 908-9946. This is super easy and apparently faster than the mail method.

Estimated time to get transcripts is 5 - 10 days

You'll need the following info to do so:

• Your SSN
• The numbers of your most address on file with the IRS (i.e. if I lived at 123 Main St., I'd need to submit "123")
• The tax years you'd like transcripts from

 

To order by mail, you can hit the "Get Transcript By Mail" button on this website, or fill out and mail in Form 4506-T-EZ to the appropriate IRS office.

Estimated time to get transcript is a few weeks(?)

You'll need the following info for either method: 

• Your SSN
• Your most recent address on file with the IRS
• Your date of birth (only for the online method?)
• Your phone number (only for the print out version?)

 

I already submitted my application w/o transcripts (substituting in other documents instead and including a letter explaining the situation) but ordered all my transcripts over the phone just now in case of a future RFE. 

 

Hope this helps someone stuck in a similar situation!

[Hawksquill 151]

Awesome, I've struggled to get mine online in the past but just tried and got my PDFs no problem, thanks for the heads up!  Question: on some older guides I've found online, there seemed to be a special type of "certified" transcript that was only available by mail.  This doesn't seem to be the case, at least according to the current IRS website.  Does anyone know if this means the online and mail versions are now identical, and you can just print copies of the PDFs you get online to bring to USCIS interviews?

Edited July 23, 2020 by Hawksquill

[Letspaintcookies 2,226]

2 hours ago, Hawksquill said:

Awesome, I've struggled to get mine online in the past but just tried and got my PDFs no problem, thanks for the heads up!  Question: on some older guides I've found online, there seemed to be a special type of "certified" transcript that was only available by mail.  This doesn't seem to be the case, at least according to the current IRS website.  Does anyone know if this means the online and mail versions are now identical, and you can just print copies of the PDFs you get online to bring to USCIS interviews?

The online ones have always been good enough

[immquestion 0]

HI we just filed out 2018 and 2019 tax returns. can we file for AOS with out tax transcripts. IRS said tax transcripts will be available in Mid November.  which is too far. 

Edited July 24, 2020 by immquestion

[Dory 8]

1 minute ago, immquestion said:

HI we just filed out 2018 and 2019 tax returns. can we file for AOS with out tax transcripts. 

It probably takes some time for tax transcripts to become "available" from the IRS. I would call an IRS help line and talk to them about how long it might take between the IRS receiving your submitted tax return and the IRS processing it and making the tax transcripts available. 

 

If it is prohibitively long, them maybe consider submitting as much alternate proof of income as possible instead (Form 1040 tax returns, W2 forms, any official letter from your employers denoting your salary, pay stubs for several months, etc.) along with a letter explaining that you can't produce IRS tax transcripts as you just filed your tax returns for 2018 and 2019. You may get an RFE if you do this though, so be cautious.

 

If you filed in 2017 you could should probably request tax transcripts from that year (as it is the most recent year in which it is currently possible for you to produce a tax transcript), but its less ideal.

[immquestion 0]

2 minutes ago, Dory said:

It probably takes some time for tax transcripts to become "available" from the IRS. I would call an IRS help line and talk to them about how long it might take between the IRS receiving your submitted tax return and the IRS processing it and making the tax transcripts available. 

 

If it is prohibitively long, them maybe consider submitting as much alternate proof of income as possible instead (Form 1040 tax returns, W2 forms, any official letter from your employers denoting your salary, pay stubs for several months, etc.) along with a letter explaining that you can't produce IRS tax transcripts as you just filed your tax returns for 2018 and 2019. You may get an RFE if you do this though, so be cautious.

 

If you filed in 2017 you could should probably request tax transcripts from that year (as it is the most recent year in which it is currently possible for you to produce a tax transcript), but its less ideal.

can they reject the tax on the basis of this . I have already called the IRS and they said Mid November. 

[Dory 8]

13 minutes ago, immquestion said:

can they reject the tax on the basis of this . I have already called the IRS and they said Mid November. 

I mean, they can sort of reject an application based on anything, but they do have guidelines for how they make decisions based on the I-944/I-864 supporting documentation. 

 

They don't strictly make an acceptance/rejection based on any one item, but they outline there what they want to see and how important each thing is as a part of the whole package. For example, you could probably get accepted without any documentation of income or education if you could provide very, very detailed information about how you have $100,000,000 in your bank account.

 

If you do submit without IRS tax transcripts (I didn't include any as I couldn't get them at the time, my spouse included hers) then try your best to provide every possible document verifying your income as possible and write a letter explaining clearly why you couldn't include IRS tax transcripts. 

 

...and I'd order the transcripts as soon as they became available in case they wanted them later via an RFE.

Edited July 24, 2020 by Dory

[PatrycjaEM 0]

Hi, this might be a silly question for some but... do we need tax transcript for the Beneficiary or Petitioner? Thank you!

[Dory 8]

3 hours ago, PatrycjaEM said:

Hi, this might be a silly question for some but... do we need tax transcript for the Beneficiary or Petitioner? Thank you!

If I am not mistaken, for both(?). The beneficiary needs them for the I-944 and the petitioner needs them for the I-864. Not 100% sure though. 

 

Again I am not certain though.

[E_pluribus_unum 73]

On 7/23/2020 at 8:45 PM, immquestion said:

can they reject the tax on the basis of this . I have already called the IRS and they said Mid November. 

I sent copies of the filed tax returns and not the transcripts as access was still not available. I sent a cover letter explaining why the transcripts were not send and explained that I would continue to make attempts to obtain the transcripts. 

My applications were all accepted an an i-797 was received for them yesterday. I will take my transcripts to the interview once I get to that point. 

I basically had a cover letter for almost everything and, to be honest, a cover letter can be a great help as you have humans reviewing the items for accuracy. If they see an explanation as to why something is missing then there is a better chance that they will accept instead of reject.