I-130 Tax, filed as single instead of married.

[Hank63452 2]

I am filing 864 right now. I looked at my last 2 years(I only have 2), and saw that I filed as single instead of married. Should I amend this with IRS? Will this be an issue with NVC during the interview?

[Boiler 47,822]

Yes and Yes

[Hank63452 2]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

Yes and Yes

What will the NVC do? Deny the case?

[Boiler 47,822]

Just now, Hank63452 said:

What will the NVC do? Deny the case?

Consulate will be the issue.

[Hank63452 2]

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Consulate will be the issue.

Is there anything I can do? Will the issue persist even if I amend?

Edited yesterday at 12:59 AM by Hank63452

[OldUser 10,352]

If you amend, you'll get a larger tax break.

[Hank63452 2]

Just now, OldUser said:

If you amend, you'll get a larger tax break.

Will the tax return transcripts change? Or will the Consulate still see that I initially filed as single? I don't really mind the money, I just want to be with my wife.

[OldUser 10,352]

6 minutes ago, Hank63452 said:

Will the tax return transcripts change? 

They should AFAIK

[Hank63452 2]

I know I will probably get an RFE if I only upload my tax returns(since it says I filed single) to NVC, should I wait for the amended tax return or can I send in photos of 1040x before I send it to IRS? 

[appleblossom 4,828]

2 hours ago, Hank63452 said:

I am filing 864 right now. I looked at my last 2 years(I only have 2), and saw that I filed as single instead of married. Should I amend this with IRS? Will this be an issue with NVC during the interview?

As said above, definitely update.
 

Have you just filed one I-130 for your spouse? I see you mention a stepdaughter previously, are you filing for her too? If so, make sure you update for both cases. 

[Hank63452 2]

4 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

As said above, definitely update.
 

Have you just filed one I-130 for your spouse? I see you mention a stepdaughter previously, are you filing for her too? If so, make sure you update for both cases. 

Hi appleblossom,

 

I filed both I-130s for my wife and stepdaughter at the same time. Now the case is at NVC, need to send in my 864 and tax info. 

 

I read that amends take a while. Does anyone know if IRS website's tracking of "amend received" is suffice for NVC? Or do I have to wait until amend is done. I know if I don't prove that I amended, NVC will likely RFE.

[pushbrk 13,752]

In my twenty years here, I've never seen filing as single be an issue in the visa process.  Many do exactly that, then amend their return after their spouse arrives and is assigned a Social Security number.  In reality, NVC won't care at all, and the Consular Officer doesn't either.  Just have your spouse explain, they don't have an SS number and you'll amend the returns after she arrives.  Works every time it is tried.  Unless you are an IRS employee, this is a non-issue, and if you were, you would have done it correctly.

 

For rank and file taxpayers, there is no penalty for overpayment of taxes.  That's the result of your filing choice. A later choice to amend, will cancel out the overpayment.

[S2N 421]

2 hours ago, OldUser said:

They should AFAIK

At this stage it’d be too late for the transcripts to change; it’d have to be paper filed plus an ITIN if they want MFJ, so you’re looking February since 1040-X takes even longer than 1040.

 

They’d submit the 1040-X plus W-2s and 1099s.

 

For context, we filed MFJ in person applying for an ITIN on 4/26/25 and the transcripts generated on 8/28/25. Like I said, amendments would take longer.

[Hank63452 2]

11 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

In my twenty years here, I've never seen filing as single be an issue in the visa process.  Many do exactly that, then amend their return after their spouse arrives and is assigned a Social Security number.  In reality, NVC won't care at all, and the Consular Officer doesn't either.  Just have your spouse explain, they don't have an SS number and you'll amend the returns after she arrives.  Works every time it is tried.  Unless you are an IRS employee, this is a non-issue, and if you were, you would have done it correctly.

 

For rank and file taxpayers, there is no penalty for overpayment of taxes.  That's the result of your filing choice. A later choice to amend, will cancel out the overpayment.

I can’t express in words how much I wish to thank you.
 

I got so paranoid I even thought about applying for jobs at consulate if worst possible happens. 🙏 

[S2N 421]

1 hour ago, pushbrk said:

For rank and file taxpayers, there is no penalty for overpayment of taxes.  That's the result of your filing choice. A later choice to amend, will cancel out the overpayment.

It’s worth noting there are some cases where MFS vs. single would create a material underpayment when filing single.

 

As an example the options I had were:

 

Single: $50 refund

MFS: $100 owed to the government

MFJ: $4000 refund.

 

We went with MFJ since Mr. S2N has an approved ESTA and we travel back and forth.

 

All that to say: if someone files single and they live in a community property state or make more than $100,000 they actually need to amend to MFJ and not just forget to do it since in those cases single could lead to underpayment as MFS has some cases where they need to pay more.

Edited yesterday at 05:44 AM by S2N