Tax Returns

[JRach 0]

I am filing the I-130 visa for my husband to move to the US with me (I'm an American citizen).  We currently reside in France and have for over 10 years.  I am currently unemployed, and therefore do not have tax returns for the past couple of years, as you are not required to file.  Will this be ok for the visa process however?  

[wildbug100420 269]

11 minutes ago, JRach said:

I am filing the I-130 visa for my husband to move to the US with me (I'm an American citizen).  We currently reside in France and have for over 10 years.  I am currently unemployed, and therefore do not have tax returns for the past couple of years, as you are not required to file.  Will this be ok for the visa process however?  

It will be an issue at the NVC. How are you going to support your spouse. Also establish your domicile in USA. 

[JRach 0]

9 minutes ago, wildbug100420 said:

It will be an issue at the NVC. How are you going to support your spouse. Also establish your domicile in USA. 

Isn't that why you can have a sponsor (someone who fills out the affadavit of support)? 

[WoodlandsFamily 30]

You've got plenty of time because it's about 17 months approval time for the i-130 abroad and in that time you can file the last 3 years tax returns and print off the transcripts, look up what other documents the NVC is going to ask for so you're ready.

 

Even if you earned $0 or were paid in Euros it is still recorded as $0 on the Affidavit of support. You still have to show your tax transcripts once you get to the NVC part of the process alongside the co-sponsor who shows theirs as well. 

[Crazy Cat 44,068]

1 hour ago, JRach said:

Isn't that why you can have a sponsor (someone who fills out the affadavit of support)? 

As primary sponsor, you will submit an I-864 Affidavit of Support.  If your annual income does not meet requirements, you can use assets or a Joint Sponsor who must also meet all the requirements of sponsorship.

[S2N 196]

The easiest way to deal with this is to file a tax return reporting $1 in interest income for the years you haven’t filed. This is accepted by the IRS as a way to e-File for anyone with zero income. You can e-File for tax years 2022, 2023, and 2024 still. In addition to generating a transcript, which is useful for immigration purposes, it prevents tax return identity theft fraud (someone fraudulently requesting a refund using your SSN), which is why it’s a recommended practice by many CPAs.

 

Theres ways around it by providing proof you don’t have a filing requirement, but NVC has pushed back on that in some posts here. They’re wrong, but it’s largely irrelevant whether they’re right or wrong since the solution is free and incredibly easy to do.

 

You can use FreeTaxUSA to do it for free:

-2024: Link for current year

-2022 and 2023: Link to start back year taxes

 

You can use other software if you prefer, but I usually recommend FreeTaxUSA because they won’t try to upsell you on what’s an informational return used to report $1 in income to the IRS. From a practical standpoint it isn’t worth filling out 2021 and earlier since those can’t be e-Filed, which substantially decreases the risk of tax return fraud and identity theft.

Edited June 13 by S2N