Eric & Idalia

1 hour ago, NeedMoreCoffee said:

Later I realized I was not supposed to as I was foreign.
What law in USA states that a foreigner is not entitled for a refund? (I don't believe there is one. This seems crazy to me if there is one)
I came to USA in 2011 and became a resident in 2016.
I received redunds for all the years 2012 - 2015 while I was a non resident and there has been no issues.

Are you saying that because your earning were low.. you did not file your tax return for 2013?

If so, you should always file for taxes regardless if you made $0 for that year or $999999999. You need to let the IRS know how much you earned. The amount does not matter.
I talked to two accountants in New Mexico and they both told me that if the IRS didn't send me a letter I should not be worried.

IRS requires that we keep up to 7 years of tax returns and so since we havent hit that 7 year mark yet. It is fair game for them to reach out to you and ask why you did not file.
I wouldnt be tooo worried about this though but you probably need to jump on this and file a late tax return. (unfortunately this may come with a late filing fee and you may need to explain why it is late in a letter).

Please someone correct me if im wrong.

Hope this helps.

Sorry I didn't express myself very well here "Later I realized I was not supposed to as I was foreign."  What I meant is that as an au pair, I was not supposed to get a refund. I read somewhere (need to look up in my bookmarks) that aliens, meaning foreign individuals not consider residents, are not supposed to get refunds.

"Are you saying that because your earning were low.. you did not file your tax return for 2013?"

I didn't file taxes for 2013. I know I should have. 

The IRS haven't contacted me, but I want to fix this issue before that happens. I am aware I need to pay a late filing fee and I'm saving money to fix all this situation.

Thanks.

Hi,

I am a resident with a pending Removal of Conditions (ROC) process pending. My window to apply to citizenship opened on May 10th. I haven't filed any form yet. I need some suggestions from you on how to deal with this situation.

I first came to US as an au pair 2011-2013 (In New Mexico), left and came back on 2015 with a CR1 visa. I got my green card in Aug 2015. I now live with my husband in Texas.

For 2015-2017 I filed taxes join with my husband. My concern is the taxes while I was an aupair. For 2011 I did file taxes helped by a program in the community center I was taking classes at. The thing is that the person told me I was going to get a refund and I did. Later I realized I was not supposed to as I was foreign. For 2013, I worked Jan-Jul and I thought I hadn't made enough money to pay taxes. Au pairs get paid around $198 per week. It is my understanding that my earnings in 2013 were a little above of the amount needed to pay taxes for. I am not quite sure going to an accountant would help. After I came back to US with my CR1 visa, I talked to two accountants in New Mexico and they both told me that if the IRS didn't send me a letter I should not be worried. Well, I am worried. I was not supposed to get refund. So that means that I got money from the government that I am not supposed to and I own them money too from 2013. Now that I am in Texas I am confused about what to do. I don't quite trust accountants as they are not informed about the immigration details. I have postponed this due to work. I also thought about filing for citizenship until after our ROC is approved, but I need to get this tax issue fixed as soon as possible. Is there any ex aupair with similar issue here? Maybe someone with a similar situation? I will call Texas IRS to get an appointment and talk to them about it directly.

Thanks in advance for any information.

Hi,

my window to apply to citizenship opened on May 10th. I haven't filed any form yet. I need some suggestions from you on how to deal with this situation.

I first came to US as an au pair 2011-2013 (In New Mexico), left and came back on 2015 with a CR1 visa. I got my green card in Aug 2015. I now live with my husband in Texas.

For 2015-2017 I filed taxes join with my husband. My concern is the taxes while I was an aupair. For 2011 I did file taxes helped by a program in the community center I was taking classes at. The thing is that the person told me I was going to get a refund and I did. Later I realized I was not supposed to as I was foreign. For 2013, I worked Jan-Jul and I thought I hadn't made enough money to pay taxes. Au pairs get paid around $198 per week. It is my understanding that my earnings in 2013 were a little above of the amount needed to pay taxes for. I am not quite sure going to a accountant would help. After I came back to US with my CR1 visa, I talked to two accountants in New Mexico and they both told me that if the IRS didn't send me a letter I should not be worried. Well, I am worried. I was not supposed to get refund. So that means that I got money from the government that I am not supposed to and I own them money too from 2013. Now that I am in Texas I am confused about what to do. I don't quite trust accountants as they are not informed about the immigration details. I have postponed this due to work. I also thought about filing for citizenship until after our ROC is approved, but I need to get this tax issue fixed as soon as possible. Is there any ex aupair with similar issue here? Maybe someone with a similar situation? I will call Texas IRS to get an appointment and talk to them about it directly.

Thanks in advance for any information.

15 hours ago, madiartzer said:

I will only have one pack of birth control on me when I move to the US next month. What are my options as far as continuing to stay on BC?

My doctor here in Canada has given me refills for a year, but I only get about 3 packs at a time. My mom has offered to get my prescription from the pharmacy and then get them to me when she comes to visit. Is this illegal/not the right way to go about it?

I really have no idea what to do.

When I moved to US, I brought like 7 boxes of BC. I brought the prescription from my doctor in Mexico. Then when my mom visited, she brought me more. 

3 hours ago, optlh0 said:

There's a lot of people officially married in the Catholic church in the US that would find your lawyers statement that Catholic weddings aren't legal quite amusing....  I can't speak for Mexico but I haven't heard of people getting married in the Catholic church there and then getting re-married in a civil service to make it legal. As others have stated, I'd definitely get a new lawyer. 

Mexican girl here, in Mexico church and government are separated. Being married by Catholic church means you are married for the Catholic church but not for the government. You need to have a civil ceremony and get marriage certificate for the government and legal entities to recognize your marriage. For example, if you want to include your spouse in your medical insurance, you need to be civil/legally married being Catholic married doesn't count. It's very important to point out that in some states in Mexico if you have lived with your special one for more than 5 years, your special one has been granted "married people" rights. So if you separate later, it would be like a divorce. That person has benefits over your assets.  

17 hours ago, Rociomtz said:

I am planning to fill out the paper work for the k-1 visa next month. We have a religious(catholic) ceremony planned for August of this year in Mexico and we want to have the legal one here in the United States after. I talked to a lawyer and he stated that a religious wedding would not hinder the visa process because it is not legal, he said that it would actually help because we would have pictures.Catholic weddings are not legal weddings in Mexico or in the United States. I was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and what the outcome was ? 

"he said that it would actually help because we would have pictures." Your lawyer is giving you bad advise. Having pictures of a wedding will not help the K1 visa process. Some people have been denied because the consul believes they are already married. I'd suggest postpone the Catholic wedding until after you are done with the legal wedding in US.

I am going to comment something I once read. I have not applied for citizenship, so I don't have that info first hand.

I read that a person said he was a US citizen in a government process after his interview, but before his oath. When he went to the oath, an officer called him and told him he was denied citizenship because he claimed to be a US citizen when he was not YET one and that claim was very serious.

Just in case please be careful. And congratulations!

Thank you for the info. Glad you got your interview date. And thanks to the other members for the laugh. It has been a hard day.

7 hours ago, bogrob said:

Sorry if this turns out to be long but I need to vent. I met my fiancee 3 years ago and started the K1 process for her. She's been living with me here in the US since August 2016. I think she is happy in this marriage but I'm not happy for several reasons. I'm torn because I want to divorce her and call it quits but I don't know if that's the right/fair thing to do right now. Here are the issues that I have with her:

 

-She didn't take my last name. Prior to her coming here, she said that she would take my last name. Once she got married here (court house wedding), she decided she would keep her own last name. We fought briefly over it but she said that she would feel like she's giving up her identity by taking my last name. She said it would be disrespectful to her father. Although I was upset, I tried to let it go. It still hurt that she didn't say this before she came and obviously it's still an issue since I'm still thinking about it now.

 

-We don't have sex. When I used to visit her in her country, we would have sex almost daily. Since she's been here in the US, we rarely have sex. Last year (2017) we had sex twice. Yes you read that right. Twice! Now if I initiate and give her oral sex, she enjoys that. But as far as traditional sex, she has no sex drive here. When I try to initiate, she acts like she is tired. She has never given me oral sex which is something she said she would do before she came. As of 2018, we haven't had sex yet although I have given her oral sex several times. I don't know what to think about this. I don't know if I'm just not asserting myself enough or what. I sat her down and told her I need sex and I'm not a robot. She said she will try harder but I have not seen any change. This is probably the most frustrating issue of all.

 

-She shows little to no affection. She used to didn't kiss me until I called her out on it. Now I do get a peck on the lips before she goes to work in the morning. Besides that, I initiate all affection. Foot massages, hugs, etc.... I initiate it all. I feel that if I never touched her, she would be happy about it.

 

-She doesn't seem to be proud of our marriage. Sometimes I don't even feel married at all. She doesn't wear her ring at all. On Facebook, she's "In a relationship" but it doesn't say with who. I think I'm in 1 picture on her facebook but besides that, I feel she doesn't claim me if that makes any sense. This hurts because I see friends facebook and even the ones that aren't married show pictures of their significant other. People that are married claim each other and are proud of it. Now in her defense, we did plan on returning to her country one day for a formal wedding but I don't even know when that will be.

 

-She doesn't help on bills. She's not making much money on her job so I don't pressure her to contribute to the household. Still, she promised before she came that she would work and help out with bills. Maybe this issue wouldn't seem so bad if all the other issues didn't exist. 

 

-She forgot our anniversary. Our anniversary was Feb 6th. I reminded her about a week prior and she said "Oh maybe we can go somewhere". She didn't seem enthused or excited at all so I just let the day come and go. She didn't mention anything about our anniversary. I brought it up this morning that we missed it and she acted all distraught like she was so sorry she forgot.

 

Overall, I feel like I'm not getting anything from this marriage. I feel like my job is to take care of her. All I do is provide room and board at this point. When we are home together, she acts like she loves me. She calls me pet names and wants to cuddle watching movies. Outside of that, I'm getting nothing from this marriage. I feel like I'm giving her all my non-sexual energy and none of my sexual energy. I thought we would have children and start a new life but I feel she is ashamed of me. I'm in my mid 30's and starting at the Fire academy next month. In less than a year, I'll be starting a new career as a Firefighter. Right now, I can't even concentrate because these issues have me stressed out and depressed. On one hand, I want to tell her that I want a divorce and we should move on. On the other hand, I don't know if I need to give her more time to learn to love me. I don't know if I should just pull back my love and focus more on myself until I decide what to do. I'm too young to be in a sexless unaffectionate marriage. I'm not the most handsome guy but I know I can do better. Still, I've invested so much in this marriage so it's hard to let it go. Finally, she has no family in this country so her options would be limited if we divorced. She could return to her country but I doubt she would do that. She would most likely just need to save some money and get her own place. Anyway, sorry for venting for so long. I'm confused and I'm hoping someone here can lend some useful advice. 

I read all your post even though you almost lost me at "-She didn't take my last name." You don't own her. She is a human who takes her own decisions, and yes that includes changing her mind about things.

When you say "...I want to divorce her and call it quits..." it gives me the idea you have been married and divorced already before her. Even though VJ is an immigration forum not relationship advice related forum, I'd say go to counseling. Try really to understand each other. There's a reason why she doesn't want to have sex. Counseling can help you both to express those concerns. I'd recommend reading books "She comes first" and "He comes next"

13 hours ago, acidrain said:

My spouse, young son and I tried to enter the US with a U-Haul and I was denied entry. I was told to complete the immigration process in Canada. 

 

Are you aware you cannot spend more than 6 months out of 12 in the US? Your biggest hurdle could be the amount of time you've accumulated. You need to spend as much time outside the US as you have spent inside. Which is why customs probably told you to stay away for the next 6 months.

 

Your US citizen spouse will have to sponsor you while you wait in Canada. As others mentioned your child can visit the US. The border has always told me my son is welcome to the US anytime despite the fact we had to apply for IR2. Does your child have a US passport or birth abroad certificate?

 

So far the process has taken me a year to complete. I set up shop in Canada and waited about five months after our fiasco to cross the border. I signed up for a couple courses, put my son into daycare, signed a lease, etc. The first time I went to visit my spouse customs was very intense. They allowed me to visit but I only stayed for about 12 days the first visit. Showing you are completing the process legally is crucial if you want to be allowed entry into the US.

 

I would not delay filing for the i130 to start the process.

A quick question: is your son the son of your US citizen husband? If so, check this info. It may be useful: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/while-abroad/birth-abroad.html

23 hours ago, ABC- Khi said:

My husband is abroad. Never traveled to US before. Recently he got spouse visa to travel to US. Currently its been over 22 months to our marriage.

Will it be a good idea if he travels after few weeks when 2 years of our marriage completes. Will few weeks delay in travel safe benefit him getting IR instead of CR.

Yes, if you wait, as others have said, he will received a 10-year green card instead of the 2-year one. Just please check the expiration date of the spouse visa he got. He needs to travel before that date.

Sorry I reread your comment. This is for June:

I also filed that same month. I got my biometric letter, but I know many of the people who filed in July last year didn't receive it that fast. Some of them are still waiting. There is a topic for ROC July 2017 filers. You can find it here: 

6 hours ago, Iamsaguitarios said:

 

Hi, 

in their website https://www.uscis.gov/i-485 says "Last Reviewed/Updated: 01/11/2018".

The document you sent says "Form I-485 12/13/17 N" at the bottom of each page?

If the document is the same I'd say send it again include screenshots like the ones I pasted here (but include URL and date from your PC or laptop) in the package to show them which version they uploaded last.

20 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

One side was saying "Do not volunteer information. Provide info if you are asked." The other was saying use a "white lie" - which, there is nothing white about any lies in immigration.

 

People are denied entry at times yes, but most ppl visit just fine with CR1/IR1 or K1 in process... 

Regarding your experience  it sounds to me that precisely the reason that he went on the offense was BECAUSE you didn't mention anything that would explain that ID in your reason for requesting entrance at POE. Also, they did let you enter. You weren't denied. It is their job to ask questions when something is suspicious. You made it suspicious. That was all that happened.

Yeah he was wrong in even mentioning "white lies" but the point is do not volunteer information, but answer the truth when asked.

Related to my experience, I didn't provide a description of the whole situation. I don't want to hijack this post, but I will say this in case someone else reads this and find it useful. The officer was rude since the beginning. Probably he was having a bad day. I don't know. I did explain my reason to enter to US that time, what an au pair is and my reason to have the ID several times to him and his coworkers. His supervisor came because the officer was yelling at me "You shouldn't have an American ID!" and more. He even asked him "Are you going to let her go? She has an American ID!" After I explained to the supervisor the same I told the first officer and his coworkers, he told him "Yeah. I will let her go because there's no reason not to. Give her back her driver license." Then later someone in the line told me, "some Mexican-Americans hate Mexicans. Glad the supervisor approved your permission." Maybe she assumed the officer was Mexican-American because of his accent. I am not sure.  

I think what both sides were saying is true. Do not volunteer information. Provide info if you are asked.

In 2015 my husband (US citizen) filed a petition for a CR1 visa for me before he came back to US from Mexico. A friend of mine was going to get married just a week after my husband moved back to US so I was going to come. I came and was very nervous because the CR1 visa was in process and I had the opportunity to schedule the interview by then, but decided to spend more time with my family and save money. I told the officer I came to a friend's wedding. I didn't volunteer information as I was told here in VJ and I had no problem in CBP.

I understand what Italian_in_NYC  was saying because once in 2014 I drove into US to visit my host family (I was their au pair 2011-2013) and when my mom, aunt and I went to get the I-94 permission, the officer asked for the address where we were going to stay. I said it several times and he didn't seem to get it so I showed him my New Mexico driver license where the address was listed. Well he made a big problem about it and started yelling "Why you have an American ID?" I explained to him I had been an au pair and needed the license to drive my host kids around. He was rude and didn't want to give me the I-94 until his supervisor came and I explained again. The supervisor told him to give me the permission. My husband was waiting for us in the car. Imagine if he had known that my husband was a US citizen and we both were crossing to US to together. I think he wouldn't have let me come into US. Also need to point out that there may be different for people from Mexico and South America.

Remember that I posted that we got the biometrics appointment notice on Monday? Well we got the same letter again today, but the font is a little bit smaller. It has the same info though. Isn't it weird or is it OK to receive it several times?

4 minutes ago, ladominiricana said:

Noa1 date is July 24th... still no biometrics appt notice... anyone with a date close to mine that can tell me their status... thank you

I was about to post it!  My NOA1 date is July 24th. Today we got the biometrics appointment notice. It's dated on Aug 15 and the appointment is for Aug 29.

22 hours ago, Anna51 said:

 

I have seen some threads on this site where people said that they in fact did not have a biometrics appointment because USCIS said that their biometric information was current.

 

Here are a few (there are more but this what I have found for now):

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/372163-biometrics-appointment-not-needed/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/238596-biometrics/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/504936-i-751-no-biometrics/

 

These cases seemed to be totally random and there are only a very few, so it's not typical. Most people still need to have a bio appointment. My NOA1 date is July 26th and I will be calling USCIS when the 30 day mark has passed.

Thank you for the links.

1 hour ago, Eric & Idalia said:

 

"Since the biometrics appt letter is supposed to come within 30 days from your NOA1 date..."

 

A question, in the I-751 instruction is said "Biometric Services Appointment. USCIS may require that you appear for an interview or provide fingerprints,
photograph, and/or signature at any time to verify your identity, obtain additional information, and conduct background
and security checks, including a check of criminal history records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), before making a decision on your petition." The key word there is may so I understand it as they may or may not need you to provide fingerprints, etc. But I have been reading other groups and they all talk about biometrics. My NOA1 is dated Aug 24, so I guess we should call them and ask them if we are going to receive it or not.

 

 

 

Jul 24 not Aug 24!

6 hours ago, Anna51 said:

 

Wow, that was a long wait but it's great that you finally received your NOA1. No, it doesn't mean that you will get an RFE. Most likely they just had your package sitting somewhere and mailed your NOA1 later than for others.

 

Since the biometrics appt letter is supposed to come within 30 days from your NOA1 date (July 13th) you can already call USCIS and ask about it. 

"Since the biometrics appt letter is supposed to come within 30 days from your NOA1 date..."

A question, in the I-751 instruction is said "Biometric Services Appointment. USCIS may require that you appear for an interview or provide fingerprints,
photograph, and/or signature at any time to verify your identity, obtain additional information, and conduct background
and security checks, including a check of criminal history records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), before making a decision on your petition." The key word there is may so I understand it as they may or may not need you to provide fingerprints, etc. But I have been reading other groups and they all talk about biometrics. My NOA1 is dated Aug 24, so I guess we should call them and ask them if we are going to receive it or not.

On 9/10/2013 at 1:25 PM, Corredor said:

I just got my EAD card in the mail. The card has my hyphenated name, exactly as it appears in my applications. It was just the NOA letters that didn't have the hyphens.

Did you get your green card with your hyphenated lastname? 

12 hours ago, cheesecake_A+J said:

Yes, CSC, too! I think I'll just wait, unless it is already September and I still do not have any letter from USCIS. I was hoping I will get a letter in the mail today. I noticed that no one with NOA1 from the last week of July has received an appointment letter yet, unless they are not updating it. 

The NOA1 date was Jul 24. We haven't received biometrics letter yet. Tomorrow will be three weeks since we received NOA1.

15 hours ago, Leo7777 said:

Did anyone else notice this on the back of the NOA?

 

Please note that simply filing an application, petition or request, or having an approved petition does not give the person permission to legally enter the United States.

 

What the Helsinki ???

That's like a general statement in several NOAs. An approved petition could be a I-130, so having an approved I-130 doesn't give people the permission to enter legally the country. Not until they have a visa on hand.

4 hours ago, gypsyqueen said:

VSC spreadsheet is good at the moment.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BNtE6Ez-FCo07xup9PqiON2YUAY2iqy2ZepZBduxPYg/edit#gid=1188563754

 

When is your bio date?

The VSC tab is empty. It says last edit 30 mins ago by anonymous.

But wait a minute. Hadn't someone posted a couple of pages ago that using this kind of spreadsheets was a violation of VJ's policies? Maybe an admin is deleting it? 

Regards.