Odair

I'm confused. Then what is the point of the substantial presence test counting him a resident last year if we still have to write a letter saying we want him to be treated as a resident?

I have been searching all over for an answer, but I'm not having much luck. It doesn't help that up until this year I've only had to fill out the very simple tax form..

Anyhow, here's our story:

My husband and I married last year in November and filed for AOS towards the end of December. So, at the end of 2013, he was a nonresident alien.

HOWEVER, according to this, I think he meets the substantial presence test to be counted as a resident for the tax year of 2013, based on the time he was in the US last year between our two visits (187 days total in 2013 alone):

Well, my husband's AOS was approved at our interview in Indianapolis on March 7!

I couldn't have done it without the help of people on this forum. Thank you for all your patience and guidance! His greencard is in production!

Copies of 1040's are accepted as well. Bring the originals to the interview in case they want to see them.

Are they!? I had no idea. I assumed tax transcripts were the only things accepted, so that's what I sent. Ignore me, then! You're fine.

I appreciate the concern. I have spoken to many lawyers, people in the same situation etc and yes it is frowned upon and definitely not the best route to go down but it is absolutely achievable and works for people on VWP all the time. I don't want to jinx it but I've been told by many people I have a great case. It wasn't planned that we'd take this route but things came up and it just happened!

Slightly off topic... As my husband is my affidavit I am including copies of his 1040 from last three years and letter of employment. Is that all I need? He was a self employed realtor for three years so no w2.

It's not actually the 1040s you need. You need the tax return transcripts from the IRS, which are different. Your husband can request them here: www.irs.gov/Individuals/Order-a-Transcript

I got mine within a few days.

Thanks Brian!

Would you recommend I attach a sperate sheet explaining my entry on VWP or not?

On G-335A it asks for Alien registration which I'm assuming I leave blank.

I actually read to leave NOTHING blank .. when we submitted, everything we didn't have (such as the alien registration number), we either put NA or None.

For example, on the biometrics sheets for each of us .. for "alien registration number" for me I put "N/A" because it doesn't apply, but on his biometrics, we wrote "none."

Literally any space on any form that didn't apply, I went through and wrote N/A or none.

Thank you so much for the advice, and Odair best of luck with your interview tomorrow!!

I am adjusting my status from the visa waiver programme, I am filing I-130, and I-485 together.

I will definitely contact his bank to find out if they will accept our marriage certificate and my passport as ID to put my name on his account. So far, it's proving very difficult to be added onto anything without a SSN.

... Not to rain on the parade, though, but are you sure you want to adjust from the visa waiver program? That seems genuinely strict to me. It's generally accepted that if you're coming over here on a VWP, you're not intending to get married, just to visit - so you might have a time proving to USCIS that you didn't come over here with the intention of marrying/staying. Did you?

ETA: It seems like other VJ users haven't had many problems adjusting status from the VWP, now that I look at some more topics. But even so ...

Thank you so much for the advice, and Odair best of luck with your interview tomorrow!!

I am adjusting my status from the visa waiver programme, I am filing I-130, and I-485 together.

I will definitely contact his bank to find out if they will accept our marriage certificate and my passport as ID to put my name on his account. So far, it's proving very difficult to be added onto anything without a SSN.

You may want to go ahead and do the application for employment authorization at the same time. It's free, and will allow you to work while your petition is processing. (Of course, my husband's is arriving to our house on the day of our interview, rendering it void anyhow ... hopefully (providing we get our GC!)).

It'd be better to go in to the bank if you can, preferably with him.

Thank you for the luck!

Hi! My husband is currently immigrating from Ireland, and we ran into the same thing you did as far as evidence ... most things are in my name alone, and I couldn't get him on my life insurance, etc. just yet because for my particular insurance I had to provide a social security number for him (which he obviously doesn't have yet).

We relied heavily on photos, stamped envelopes from letters to each other / to/from each other's family, and got my father to write a notarized affidavit saying we are legitimate. From that stuff alone, we haven't received a request for more evidence, and our final interview is tomorrow.

If you have several friends and family that can affirm that your relationship is genuine, I'd assume getting a couple notarized letters would be a good route to go by. Like I said, we haven't had any trouble, but it's very possible we just got lucky - or, that tomorrow, they'll tell us otherwise!

Good luck!

ETA: We also had a joint bank account at that point, though, and sent a voided cheque with both of our names on it. Our bank was able to use our marriage certificate and his passport as enough ID to add him to the account (which was under my name originally).

You can't claim the loan payments regardless of filing status. You can only claim the interest paid on the student loan(s) during the tax year, subject to phase out limits as AGI increases.

Right, yes. I've been claiming the interest for a while now, I know I can't claim the payments.

If you're worried about the close timing of AOS/SSN/tax return due date - then file an extension by April 15th. You don't need a reason and you'll get an automatic six month extension for filing your 2013 tax returns. The extension is only for the filing of the return, not an extension of the due date for your taxes. You need to have 90% of your estimated tax paid by April 15th, otherwise you'll begin to accrue interest and, potentially, penalties beginning on April 16th.

File the extension as MFS and then the actual return as MFJ.

I might end up doing this, just in case. That's a good idea. Thank you.

So in summary: we can get an extension, wait for his SSN, and file as "married filing jointly" without the required letter?

He hasn't applied for a SSN yet with out work permission or AOS completed.

In general, only noncitizens who have permission to work from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can apply for a Social Security number. If you do not have permission to work but need a Social Security number for other purposes, see “If you do not have permission to work” for further information.

http://ssa.gov/ssnumber/ss5doc.htm

But in my original post I state that by the time we file taxes, his AOS will be complete and he will have applied for a SSN.

How do I apply for an ITIN?

Use the latest revision of Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number to apply. Attach a valid federal income tax return, unless you qualify for an exception, and include your original proof of identity or copies certified by issuing agency and foreign status documents.

Because you are filing your tax return as an attachment to your ITIN application, you should not mail your return to the address listed in the Form 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ instructions. Instead, send your return, Form W-7 and proof of identity and foreign status documents to:

Internal Revenue Service

Austin Service Center

ITIN Operation

P.O. Box 149342

Austin, TX 78714-9342

Right. BUT. On the IRS website, it says:

"If you have an application for a SSN pending, do not file Form W-7. Complete Form W-7 only if the Social Security Administration (SSA) notifies you that a SSN cannot be issued.

To obtain a SSN, see Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card. To get Form SS-5 or to find out if you are eligible to obtain a SSN, go to Social Security Administration or contact a SSA office. By law, an alien individual cannot have both an ITIN and a SSN.

IRS processes returns showing SSNs or ITINs in the blanks where tax forms request SSNs. IRS no longer accepts, and will not process, forms showing "SSA205c," "applied for," "NRA," blanks, etc."

So he will be eligible to file for an SSN. Assuming it's pending, though, we cannot apply for an ITIN, yet ... we also can't write "applied for"? That makes no sense to me.

ALSO (sorry for multiple posts): if we have to still file the form, yet he has a greencard/ssn ... what number do we use?

For instance, if your spouse does not yet have a ssn/greencard, you file the form for the ITIN. But you cannot have both an ITIN and a SSN at the same time. BUT by the time we file taxes, he should have a SSN, right? So do we still file the W-7? Or do we just include our letter?

Thanks for your response. That clears it up. I'd still like to do married filing jointly despite the needed forms, because I paid a ton of student loan interest and can't deduct that if we file separately. Is it a difficult process to file jointly like that? After all the immigration paperwork, this seems even more daunting.

Hi everyone. Please bear with me here - I've looked all over for answers, but it's only serving to make me more confused. Last year, my husband and I got married. Earlier in the year he had made money in Ireland.

We have our interview on March 7th, which we suspect we will pass, and so he should have a green card before taxes are due on April 15th. Therefore, I'd like to file as "married filing jointly" since I believe it will be beneficial to us (not sure, of course).

My question is, however ... since he didn't have a green card last year, does that mean we still have to fill out the form (W-7, I think it is?) and submit that way? Or, because he'll have a green card by the time tax filing comes around, can we skip that step and treat him as a citizen already?

I hope my question is clear. Sometimes I confuse even myself with all of this ... (up until this year, I've only ever had to file the 1040EZ!)

The A-number is the alien registration number. You get it when you file for a visa that isn't a tourist visa, to my understanding. If you entered on a tourist visa, you will not have an A-number yet. One is assigned to you once you start the filing process. However, seeing as you are applying for/have? a fiancee visa, it should be on your I-94. It begins with "A0." If you do not have one, you can put "none" for the beneficiary and "n/a" for the sponsoring USC. (This is all to my understanding.. you may want to double-check.)

It's not necessary to file for the I-131, but it wouldn't hurt. The fee is waived if you're filing concurrently with an I-485.

#######, nevermind. I misread the I-864 instructions. I have what I need. Mods, please delete!

I've noticed that the affidavit of support requires adjusted gross income for the past few years. I ordered tax return TRANSCRIPTS, but none of them list adjusted gross income, only my regular income ... Did I get the wrong thing?!

Also, this might be a stupid question, but do the cheques go on top of everything else (even the cover letter)?

Haha! Okay, I'll think about it. I might instead bring that to the interview if they ask.

When writing a cover letter, do I need two separate ones, one for each packet? Or, since the I-130 and I-485 are going in the same envelope, is one enough?

Yes, they're all in English.

ETA: Should we include proof that he had a return ticket to Ireland, therefore providing evidence that he didn't come over here just to marry me?

That's what we ended up doing. Thanks! I'm so afraid of leaving any line blank.

Hi! We are filing on Wednesday of this week (finally! - though I'm a little worried about the holidays coming up re: postal service). I wanted to post my checklist here and see if we could get some feedback on whether or not we have everything. I used a list as a template that I found here on VJ that someone else had posted.

I-130:

COVER LETTER

Hello (again),

On the i-130, it asks for the relative's address if the native alphabet is other than Roman letters. Well, my husband is from Ireland, so it is Roman letters ... but do I just leave that blank, put N/A, or none? I've been putting N/A in all fields that do not apply, but this bit confused me.