pushbrk

Not an issue. No need to notify.

This is a visa forum, so USCIS doesn't see any tax returns. If adjusting status they do, but when the spouse is already here, the W7 is no big deal. The same discussion happens every year for my 20 years here. Everybody gets their say, and then people do whatever they decide to do. Not a lot of minds are changed.

This subject comes up at least once around this time every one of the 20 years I've been a member here. While the above is absolutely true, it's also true that many in your situation DO file as single, then later amend their return after their spouse arrives. I'm one of the many. If you are employed by the IRS you would not be asking this question. To my knowledge, the only people who would pay any consequence for filing with the "wrong" filing status are IRS employees. For the rest of us, filing as single when married means we will (at least theoretically) OVERPAY OUR TAXES, for which there is no "penalty". So no, it is not a negative for your spouse's immigration to have filed as single. Consular Officers see this all the time and understand the reasons why. For example, I used my refund to finance my second visit to my (now former) spouse in China. Amended the return once spouse and step daughter had SSNs.

You seem to think the issue is "proof" that you "filed" a tax return. This is about the public charge issue. The concern is whether you have qualifying income. Tax returns are about the past. So, unless you are self employed, it is a current pay stub that is the proper evidence of qualifying employment income. Tax returns are required from all sponsors who file them, but only the self employed use a tax return as proof of qualifying income.

Hard to say whether they've checked already or not, but if you sent what they asked for, it really doesn't matter.

If your income will continue from the same source, you have no reason to involve a joint sponsor. Six months of pay stubs is a decades old artifact. Pay stubs have year to date income on them now. One current one is enough. Remember, tax return/transcripts are about the past. Current income does not come from them. It comes from the pay stubs.

Yes, Utah marriage and Mexico Celebration with our without non-legal ceremony is a completely viable plan.

I'm not clear on your income. If you are employed and your income will continue from the same source in Canada, then your current income comes from a pay stub. Formula is gross for a pay period times the number of pay periods in a full year, then convert to US dollars. US income sources are calculated the same way. Please clarify your income. The way I read it, you are making 110k USD. Or has the 80k stopped. You and your kids are not counted in your brother's household.

You won't get a receipt notice unless they cashed your check. Check your online banking to confirm. At intake, your file gets a cursory look. If something is wrong, there will be no receipt notice. In a month or so, you get your whole package back telling you what was wrong. (Not necessarily a clear explanation, but something.)

Read more carefully. For petitioner, it's marriage termination documents only. For visa applicant (foreign spouse) it's marriage certificates and termination documentation. In practice though, the need for marriage certificates for prior marriages relates to tracking name changes, so it's best to provide them. If you submit a birth certificate for Mary Smith, who later became Mary Jones, but when she divorced Mr. Jones her maiden name is not mentioned in the divorce decree (sometimes yes and sometimes no) and Mary is now Mary Adams (wife of John Adams, petitioner) the marriage certificate is how the name change gets tracked. Petitioners don't have that problem at the NVC stage, but sometimes they do at the petition stage. It depends on the details in the Documents.

Immigrant visas for immediate relatives of US Citizens usually takes about two years. Naturalization should be faster than you get your wife's I-130 approved. Being a citizen has no impact on the I-130 adjudication timeline. The impact is at NVC. You can file for your parents the same day you hold your Naturalization Certificate.

No, and I wanted to add, that "using" your husband's income is not a "thing" in this context. If your income was over the threshold, you would need to file because you are a US Citizen. Your husband is not a US Citizen, or Permanent Resident yet, so he is not required to file. Only foreign income that will continue from the same source is considered for the affidavit of support. You do what is correct and proper under the circumstances. There is no choice left to you to use or not use any income. Joint sponsor or not, your husband should be ready to explain how the two of you are going to support yourselves once in the USA. I'm sure you already have a plan, so be ready to articulate it.

It is neither "theoretical" or "theatrical". IR1 and CR1 are both visa categories and resident status categories. You can be issued a CR1 visa after for example, after 23 months of marriage, and enter the USA after 24 months of marriage and receive IR1 resident status. Depending on the actual timing, the correct visa will be issued, and the correct status will be granted. Sometimes there are mistakes, but they can be corrected after the fact.

The correct immigrant visa will be issued, based on how long you have been married on the date it's issued. Then, the correct green card will be issued based on how long you've been married when the immigrant enters the USA using the visa. CR1 and IR1, are both visa categories, and resident statuses.

I'll just chime in and say there is no point in your wife even filing the petition until she can come spend some significant time with you there in Nigeria. It's useless to even count all the red flags. Nobody can see through them anyway. People do what is important to them. They find a way. That she hasn't even found a way to start the process in four years, is really all that matters.

In this context, your grandmother is irrelevant. No need to mention her in any way, assuming your pay from your job is how you are qualifying as sponsor.

Wet signature is not required for I-864 at interview.

Whether you get an RFE or not, it will not be that fast. You could file and then just send the correct one in response to any RFE, but definitely update the corrected one at the NVC stage. This kind of error is amazingly common, but must be corrected.

Go to the PSA and get it fixed. Is it also misspelled on the local Civil Registry Certificate?

US Citizens are required to file US Federal tax returns on their worldwide income. However, there is a filing threshold. If your income is below that threshold, you are not required to file. Determine whether you were required to file or not. If you were, file the back tax returns. You sponsor qualification WILL BE determined by your current income which is entered in a different section of the affidavit, but that is not a substitute for dealing with the tax section. Come back when you determine whether you were required to file or not. Even if you were, it's unlikely you will owe any back taxes.

Start by clicking on the word Guides at the top of any page here, and start your homework. We are here to answer and help with remaining questions. This is a "do it yourself" with emphasis on "doing". There's a lot to learn, and a lot of it is already prepared for you to study.

Yes, I would do that. Good idea.

A person applying for a CR1 visa better not be single. Please clarify.

Can't open the image. Please just past the wording into your post, but leave out the personal information.

You're welcome. These situations are the inspiration for the anonymous quote in my signature.