Harm1307

Great!

All that's left is to get to it and do it.

Focus on the past tax returns - they'll haunt you otherwise and only become more expensive as time wears on. Being proactive with the IRS will result in a payment plan more amenable to your ability to pay.

The you can focus on the affidavit of support. Considering a sponsor as a backup would be prudent.

Good luck.

thank you for all your help, We're excited for the next phase. Gathering everything now, will be on top of it as soon as I'm back from Indonesia next month.

I played poker as a source of income many years back. It is difficult to do as a sole source of income.

Honestly, you need to be a better poker player or disclose all the money you really win!

ok, I want to again thank everyone for all the feedback and guidance in this matter, it truly is what I need from all angles to make this work and get in the right direction, I appreciate all of the responses. As far as being a better poker player, I cash out at a rate over 90% as I am extremely disciplined and do not get greedy and play many hours. I treat it very much like a business, I go to work, make my goal of 200-300 a day and get out. I very rarely have a losing session, and in the nearly going on to 4 years of being my sole income, I have only had one losing month at a negative 25 dollars, my second worse month being at plus 700 give or take a few dollars. I am very steady and as consistant as they come, I have averaged 2500 a month take home since 2010 when I made this my sole income. I know that may not seem like much to many of you, but I am taking care of myself, a member of my family elsewhere and have also taken on my woman's rent in her village so she has better living conditions than before she met me. I know how to take care of my family and will do whatever to make sure we have a comfortable life now and in the future should I move on from poker one day. Obviously words mean nothing in the eyes of immigration. With that said, just as KayDeeCee has informed me, I can get all the tax transcripts for the last few years of my poker play, I have various 1099 forms ranging from 800 to 10,000 dollars to include from tournament winnings that my casino reported to the IRS. I also am very well prepared for a tax audit should it pop up out of the blue on me, I have EVERY single poker session since I began saved in my poker income app on my phone and saved on their website online. There are thousands of sessions available immediately to a auditor. I have years worth of western unions proving money I have sent to my woman to pay her rent, showing I have already taken responsibility for her financially. I can easily get bank statements going back as far as the bank will give me (same bank since I began). In other words, I do feel confident in my ability to prove what I do is not only legitimate, but also have years worth of consistent data to show there is no reason I will go bankrupt all the sudden. Poker is far from the boom it was 7 - 10 years ago, but I can tell you first hand, poker is alive and busy EVERY single day of the year including Christmas. It is not going anywhere. Some may say, well it is gambling and it is not guaranteed you will keep winning, but in all honesty, poker is a game of math, calculated odds, and the ability to read and use your mind. I am not going to one day just forget how to play, I have been playing the everyday new kids on the block and also same everyday retired regulars for years who know my game inside and out and they still hate me at the table because I am a rock and no ones money is tougher to take than mine. I am successful in this, have records to back it up, and if the Lord means for this chance meeting with this woman to come to fruition, then nothing can stop his hand at work. Again, truly, thankyou all for your help and responses. Good luck and may God have favor on us all in our long distance relationships. God Bless

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as a Professional poker player, especially where I live in California, it is not as absurd a way of living as some of you are making it out to be. I'm not some degenerate gambler, there is much professional skill involved as with ANY and all business' will have risk, skill and experience is what will push you through. It is not as if I just started this business a few months ago on a whim and got lucky. Thank you to everyone for advice and support from those who mean it. I will take all this with me and move forward with my best to accomplish bringing a great woman to America, and in the end as with all things, it will come down to the hand of the most high God showing favor on our situation. God bless all you and good luck with your individual circumstances.

KayCeeDee, once again I truly thank you from the bottom of my heart. The information given will help ease my mind knowing that this woman truly can be in my life and we can hopefully start a family one day soon. As with any and all relationships of this kind, you know what a mental, physical, and financial battle it can be to go long distance and to patiently hold onto hope in believing it's not all in vain. Thank you for not holding judgment over me and just trying to help with your knowledge and experience, it really sucks that a couple post on here are making me out to be some criminal mastermind over not paying my taxes the last few years. But as I am no criminal, it will be paid back with interest. Thank you again, God Bless and Good Luck in whatever situation you are in as well.

So.. let me understand.. you are not paying taxes and asking help from people that actually paying taxes for you. Am I correct?? Isn't it against TOS A to help criminals?? Is there any way to remove the subject???? Obviously OP is a criminal and any help is unlawful!#

you have to be absolutely kidding me, I have never said I am not going to start paying my taxes, that's the entire point of this thread is that I am trying to officially get on the books and have no problem paying penalties and interest on past back taxes. You have no idea my story and life experience to judge me and call me a criminal, that is absolutely rude. I paid taxes my entire life in the construction business and because of being laid off due to this country's economy seven years ago, I did whatever I had to do to support myself. There is nothing criminal whatsoever in playing poker, and fortunately over the last few years I have become good enough to rely completely on poker, for which I am about to pay taxes on. You don't have the first clue as to how I have helped this woman and her family over the last few years and have fallen in love with her and I am TRYING to do whatever it takes to get her over here LEGALLY. but again, thank you for judging me.

You must backfile for the past 3 years to show that your have filed taxes as the law requires. They will look at your current income which must exceed the 150% poverty... Regardless of what the past 3 years taxes show, most consulates are more interested in your a ability to support the immigrant now.... Not 3 years ago.. To use assets, they need to be 3x the 150% or around 60k.

are you really saying that in order for me to have a legitimate chance to bring her over for marriage and be approved, is that I can show I made atleast 20,000 a year (not a problem, as I have made well over this) but I will also have to show that I have atleast 60,000 dollars saved in my bank account? I have never heard this before even when I spoke directly with a immigration lawyer a couple times of all the requirements. Somebody please confirm if this is true or not

I do apologize if it sounded like I thought he was being critical, not the case at all, I am just 3 years into this relationship and onto obviously the most important aspect of gathering all the info I need to proceed, I appreciate all the help and advice I can get. I apologize once again if I offended anyone, not at all my intention, so grateful for this website and feedback from others like me going through the visa process. I am getting somewhat discouraged thinking that it is possible I may not be able to bring this woman over here now, especially when I am able to provide for her and give her far better living conditions than she has ever had in her life. Back to the topic at hand though, I do have a couple 1099 forms to show for tournaments I won in which the casino was required to fill out, largest one being 10.000 dollars last year, but cash games is my main daily income which is only recorded daily through my cell phone poker app. So in all I will have the 1040 form, the Schedule C form, a 1099 for partial income, as well as the Form SE for self employment. I would think if I copied and sent every single form I have to show my income, this would be sufficient in a interview. Am I incorrect in this matter? thanks again for all help

I assume when I file as self employed, maybe I don't get a 1099, but obviously self employed people do have some sort of proof to show their income through what is reported to the IRS, which is what I would use to get her visa, correct? whether a poker player or some other other form of self employment, why should it matter? as long as I pay taxes and show that proof of income, that is all that should matter right?

thank you sirliner for your response, yes I am aware of penalties involved, not much I can do but pay it out through payment plan, I love her and if its only money standing in the way of us being together then so be it. Bank statements are easy to come up with, although I will need to start depositing more money in my account as I usually just keep majority of my money in safe at home since I play poker and money is in and out on a daily basis, I usually just make one lump deposit for bills in my account which obviously doesn't show how much I actually have to my name in savings. I can start that now, planning a 2nd trip next month and then beginning the process of filing this when I come back or as late as beginning of new year to get all paperwork in order. As far as not having a 1099, I will obviously have that once I have properly filed. Any other concerns or thoughts you may have regarding my situation will be very helpful, thanks again!

thank you KayDeeCee for your thorough response, filing 3 years worth will be costly, but not a big of deal, it needs to be done anyways. I will be setting it up on a payment plan over 3 years though, will that make a difference in being approved? I assume I just need to show proof that I have filed it showing a paper trail of how much I earn, right? Being on a payment plan wont affect us, will it? thanks again

thanks for response, but isn't my filing of taxes how I show my proof of income? how is it not inter related? Also how does a co-sponser save me from showing proof of income and filing taxes? are you implying I will need a co sponser in my situation even though my income meets the required above poverty line? thanks again for any help

I apologize, I posted in tax section but then saw the k-1 visa section, wasn't sure which was appropriate spot to post, I'm a newbie

Here's the situation. I am in a 3 year relationship with a girl I met online. I am in California, she's in Indonesia. After a couple years of talking on Skype everyday, we finally met in person about nine months ago and spent a month together at her home in Indonesia. I proposed and we are now set to begin the process of a K-1 visa to bring her here. This is where I have some questions. First, I am in a unique situation of being a professional poker player for the last seven years. This is my only source of income (make more than poverty line of 21,000 but less than 32,000 on average a year). Now while I know it is unlawful to not pay taxes on my income, I have been under the radar as a cash game casino poker player and simply have never filed as a self employed poker player. I do not have any large assets so it has been easy not to file taxes in the past as I do rent here in California. Anyways, obviously I can not continue this if I am going to bring her over here. I have done the research on how to file as a poker player, this is not a issue, but I am not sure how far back I must go to prove financial support for bringing her here. Must I show the most recent year of taxes for last year or do I have to show 3 years of taxes. I have read both. I have been told that if my current bank statement shows less than poverty line (about 20-21,000) then I must show I made atleast the 21,000 for the last 3 years in a row, but if I have that amount in my bank account I only need to show 1 year of taxes. Unsure if this is accurate information. If I must show 3 years worth, then I will owe quite a bit in taxes ( I did this on paper according to my situation) it would be in the neighborhood of 8,000-10,000 owed in back taxes, which I already found out I can set up a payment plan on that amount fairly easily to be paid off over a 3 year period. I have no problem doing this for the woman I love if it is what I have to do to bring her over, but obviously I would prefer 1 year of taxes as proof to be sufficient since I could then afford to just pay those taxes off immediately or over a couple months at worst. Also is this something I provide in immigration process before or after she is approved for visa, sounds stupid, I'm pretty sure it is before, but I may have read some forum stating you provide the proof of support after she has come over here with her visa. Anyone with knowledge, please help me. Thanks a million!