MidAtlanticMerge

Congratulations on the case Complete I will add you to the spreadsheet. Here's the spreadsheet so you can see.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xbLl_8yDgHLeDaLnTrPdYc44J0sjPSFfYCKxlKx6uTY/edit#gid=0

Come on over to the Interview thread. Many waiting like you.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/580441-february-2016-interviews/page-42#entry7983774

Also correct your Timeline. That email you got is the case Complete email. Subtract 7 days from it if you got it today your case complete date is 1/20.

The date you put on your timeline that will be for the Interview (P4) letter that will come after you are assigned.

Dwheels76, Thanks so much for all of this info. I have updated my timeline accordingly. Also - we were given an interview date of March 8th on Feb 2nd. It moved so fast!

Thanks

We have just received the letter from the NVC in New Hampshire that we are now in the queue to book an interview at the London Embassy! Yay! It says that most appointments are set within 60 days, and that they are made a month in advance. So that means possibly 90 days until the interview? That seems pretty long when I looked at other people's timelines.

Has anyone recently booked or had an interview in the London Embassy? How long did it take between getting the NVC letter saying your in the line and then being booked a date? Or can anyone point me in the direction of the charts that compile average waiting times? I feel like I saw one a while back, but can't locate it.

Thanks!

Hi all

So I know that my husband (from the UK) is allowed to visit the US on his regular ESTA and he has done it twice in the past with no problem. He had letters from his employer and other items to prove he intends to return but they never asked to see any of it, they just asked basic questions and let him through.

My question is, will he have a problem if he plans on staying in the US for a while (6 weeks)? He wants to come on Dec 1 and return to the UK on the 15th of January. He will no longer have a job at that point, so he won't be able to prove employment. He also had to move home bc his landlord would give him a short term lease, so I am not sure how he can prove his residence? The only thing that we can think of for proving that he is returning is a return ticket.

A separate but related question, if all goes according to plan, his interview will take place in March. Does it get harder to visit the closer you get to your consular interview or does it not matter?

Thanks!

With MFS filing you will have to include spouse's name, SSN or ITIN, and answer whether he/she is using standard or itemized deductions since you both have to do same thing. No questions on earnings.

What if he has no SSN since he isn't American? What's an ITIN?

Also - he isn't going to be filing taxes since he doesn't live or work in the States. Does this change things?

Thanks!

For those who live in the US and are married to a non-US citizen, how are you filing taxes? Married but filing separately? Will there be extra questions about my spouses earnings/SSN/taxes?

Thanks!

I remember reading somewhere in this long and glorious thread that someone filled out forms in the wrong color ink. Can someone refresh me memory? I've started my forms with black ink and want to make sure thats okay.

Thanks!

Thanks HDreams and Gail83. I was slightly pissed off that they didn't keep it on file or give me my p45 but it seems I don't need them anyway.

I've worked out my UK salary into dollars using the annual conversion rates and I'm half done with my forms for 1 of the three years I am filing for.

Anyways - thanks all for the help!

Hello all,

I am a USC that worked in the UK for 3 years. I didn't realize i was meant to be filing taxes while I was over there so now I am behind on my US taxes and I have to catch up.

In order to do this I believe I need my p60s for the 2011/2012 tax year, the 2012/2013 tax year and the 2013/2014 tax year.

My employer from 2011-2013 has said they have it all on file and will be sending me the forms once they get a chance. However my employer from May 2013 to December 2013 have said they don't have a record of it. I read online that employers are required to keep records for three years, so they should have it. Is this true?

How can I go about getting old p60s and p45s? Everything I've read said the employers can make you a duplicate, but what if my employer says they don't have it on file?

Thanks all!

Thanks so much Nich-Nick. You went way above and beyond in supplying me with more info. I totally understand that there are way too many scenarios for you to write anymore!

You don't understand threshold for filing. See for example 2013 instructions. Chart on page 7. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040.pdf

Single--$10,000 earned must file and so on according to the filing status found in the chart.
If you earned $30,000 equivalent, then you file.

Where you likely get off having to pay any tax is the foreign income exclusion Form 2555 or the easier form 2555EZ.

So you file and put in $30k income just like you earned it in the USA using Form 1040.
The foreign income exclusion 2555EZ allows you to report what was earned abroad and discount the tax you would owe on your $30k to probably zero. The excluded foreign $30,000 will be subtracted out on the tax form 1040.

Accountants don't all know how to deal with foreign income if they haven't dealt with it before. H&R Block locations tell people wrong info depending on who works on your file. They all aren't as informed as you would think. I have studied it using info on the IRS site. I have done back taxes for several people on VJ. I just can't teach you how to do taxes in a message post if you have no prior experience with taxes. Everybody has different earning, situations, and it would take me longer to write..if this, then this ...situations than I have time for. I would be typing until next week.

Get started by figuring what you earned Jan-Dec tax year for 2013, 2012, 2011
Make a list. Put down what in US and what in UK.
Married in that year or single the entire year?
Anybody doing your taxes will need that info organized.
Your UK income is self-reported. They require no proof on paper showing your income.
Convert £ to $ using the exchange rate for the year earned. Oanda.com has a way to look up historical exchange rates.

Those 3 years will be all you need. The IRS needs no explanation. No stories or excuses. You can mail in paper forms. As long as you don't owe taxes, they won't be bothered with it being late.

You've been given some good advice here. I had lived in the UK 12 years when I decided to move back to the States with my husband. Like you, I hadn't filed at all during my time in the UK. I started freaking out when I realised I had to back file in order to do the I-864, so I went to visit the nice (actually nice!) people at the IRS satellite office in London. It's located in the Embassy. I was told that if I was below the foreign exclusion threshold for all 12 years I had lived there, I only really needed to file the prior three years for the purposes of the I-864 (which, back then, required that you attach three years of returns). I spent Easter weekend 2007 doing 3 years of taxes. FUN! But not that hard. The hardest bit of the 2555 is remembering that the US and UK have different start and end dates to their tax years. This required quite a bit of pro rata calculation, but in the end, it really wasn't too difficult.

If you are near enough to London, you may be able to file the returns over the counter at their London office. This is what I did and got stamped copies proving receipt the same day, which was very useful.

Thank you for sharing your story!

I am back in the US now so I won't be able to pay a visit to the kind IRS office in London. I would have loved to because I almost can't believe you when you say they're nice.

I think with a bit of elbow grease I will be able to sort it out. My Dad's accountant told me I might owe 13 grand so I was freaking out! I don't think he has any experience with foreign earned income...

Short story what my wife did: downloaded appropriate I-1040 form ( for year 2010,2011,2012,2013), downloaded appropriate form 2555 for foreign earned income ...filled everything and sent all together to IRS.

She didn't have any troubles and got her transcripts by mail. The whole process took about 3 months.

Thanks for your reply.

So she just sent it to the IRS without any prompting or explanation? Did she end up owing anything?

Thanks so much!

You will need to file for every year in which you earned over the filing threshold. If you qualify either on physical presence or bonafide residence in the UK, then you can take the foreign income exclusion. You probably don't owe the IRS any money. Download Form 2555 and it's instructions and try to work through that and see how you do with your actual facts and figures. I find that easier than reading the general concept page. Put in your dates, income, etc and take it line by line. Keep in mind that each year has a form for that year.

Have you ever filed your own tax return before?

Thanks for your response.

I don't believe I was over the threshold ever. I was only making about 30 grand in USD. Do I still need to file for those years?

I need to investigate the foreign income exclusion as I believe that applied to me.

I have never filed my own, my Dad was doing it for me until 2010 but then stopped and I never took over.

Hi all,

I am starting to freak out about my taxes. I am a US citizen that lived in the UK from September 2010 to December 2013. For one year of that I was a student with no income and for the other two years I was working. I didn't file taxes for any of these years, thinking I didn't need to since I wasn't making an income in the US and paid UK taxes.

Now I realize that that was very bad of me and could cause me problems when I go to get my tax returns for the AOS package for my future hubby's CR-1.

Does anyone here know what I need to do to get up to date? I am looking at this link here but its all confusing - http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Foreign-Earned-Income-Exclusion---Physical-Presence-Test

At this point should I just go to an accountant?

Thanks!

I was reading about the NVC process and either the information is conflicting, or I am understanding it wrong. Either way I need some help!

The 'step by step guide for how to fill for a IR-1/CR-1 visa' says this...

"A few weeks after you have received your last Notice of Action indicating the approval and forwarding of your I-130 application to the NVC, the NVC will send your relative a packet of forms that you and your relative must fill out before your relative can be given an interview date with a consulate abroad. The packet will likely contain an Of-169 form, and an Of-230 part one and two forms that must be filled out by the intending immigrant. An I-864 form is also included that must be filled out by the petitioner (living in the US). The I-864 is the Affidavit of Support form that requires copies of the petitioners past 3 U.S tax returns (or tax transcripts which are free from the IRS) as well as any bank or financial records available (see the I-864 for exact requirements based on your case)."

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

However the VJ Wiki page on the NVC process says this...

"-get case number and IIN, give email addresses over

-complete the online DS-261

-pay the AOS bill, once it's invoiced

-once the bill appears as PAID, send the AOS package

-pay the IV bill, once it's invoiced

-once the bill appears as PAID, send the IV package

-complete the online DS-260

-respond to any checklists, if applicable

-get case complete

-get interview date scheduled

-case is sent to embassy/consulate"

Each page is talking about different forms, so I am pretty confused! Thanks in advance

Hi all,

I was just wondering how anyone handled the affidavits process to provide as evidence of a bonafide marriage...

• Does it matter how many you provide, and the stature of those who provided the document?
• Did you type up the document yourself and then present it to the witnesses so all they had to do was sign it?
• Also, what needs to be included in those documents? (full name and address, date and place of birth of the person making the affidavit, his or her relationship to the petitioner or beneficiary, and details explaining how the person acquired his or her knowledge of the marriage)
• Final question, does this need to be notified or anything like that?

Thanks!

I am totally saving this list and copying it when its time for me to send in my package!

Thanks/well done!

For each couple this is an individual decision. For us, the K1 was not acceptable. There was no way I could possibly be stuck in the USA for 90 days considering my daughter stayed in Canada with her father. We went the CR1 route because of the travel issues.

Thanks for sharing your story. Its really helpful to hear how others worked the process out.

You don't receive an EAD 3 months after your POE on a K-1 visa. You receive it about 3 months after you apply for it. The time it takes to apply for EAD depends on you and when you will marry and file AOS.

If you want to be able to work right away, you will need to do the CR-1 visa route.

Hi Zedayn,

Thanks for pointing out that it is about a 3 month wait from when you apply for it. I now realize it takes time to get married/file AOS/apply for EAD.

So everyone who uses this visa and intends to work, needs to either have a lot of savings or have a spouse that can support the household entirely?

*Bump*

Anyone else?

Hello,

I am 99 percent sure that my fiancé and I are going to do the CR-1 option but I just want to double/triple check something before we actually get married...

If I am understanding this right, with the K-1, there will be about 3 months between POE and receiving the EAD. Therefore my fiancé can't work for three months? We just don't think this is feasible. We don't have savings, and we will be living in NYC so it ain't cheap.

Can someone tell me if my logic here is wrong? Also, I'd love to hear how other couples handled this waiting period?

Thanks!

Thanks so much for your response.

I am expecting the marriage to take 2 or 3 days as I am aware of the 24 waiting period. Definitely going to have the ceremony of Friday 21 of November so will probably get the license on the Weds before hand. I am gal to hear that I will have the certificate immediately.

Thanks so much for pointing out that I will be in touch with NVC a lot. I wasn't expecting that!

And thanks for clarifying everything else!

Okay, the marriage license is the permission to get married. You must get that at least 24 hours in advance of your wedding (two separate trips). Once the wedding is done they will give you your marriage cert immediately. This is the thing you need. (This advice is NYC specific).

Your NVC steps are wrong. You the USC will do a lot of stuff with NVC, send them your financials, email with them, etc. That whole process can take a few months and there are many threads and guides on that step here.

At the interview, which will be in London, he are applying for a visa. The visa will be affixed in his passport, it is a small page with his photo and stuff on it (looks similar to a passport bio page). You can google for images. This is what allows him to come to the US as an immigrant, and his arriving in the US with this visa will make him a Legal Permanent Resident upon entry. He will then need to pay a fee to get his Greencard sent to him. The Greencard is the proof of Permanent Residence.

He can go to his interview alone.

You will apply for a SSN separately. He can work mostly immediately, but he will need the SSN for tax witholdings, so there is a few weeks delay after entry for working. But he can start looking for a job ASAP.

I am very interested in the responses to this because I am in the same boat as you are.

I plan on sending photos of us with the date and location written on them, dated email communications, plane ticket records of trips we took together, and then sign affidavits of family/friends. Does anyone think it is possible to send too many pieces of evidence?

Hello, I am new to the forum and after doing a considerable amount of research, I am ready to submit my plan to the VJ for their review/thoughts/questions/concerns! Thanks in advance for reading and offering any advise and support.

I am a 26 year old female, American, living in NYC. My fiancé is a 26 year old male living in the UK.

Steps

1. Get married in City Hall in NYC in November. This mean he has to book a trip from the UK to the US. We will have as much of the i-130 package done as possible before he gets here (payment, cover letter, I-130 form, copy of my birth cert, copy of my passport, G-325A for me, passport photo of me, G-325A for him, passport photo of him, evidence of bonafide marriage and the G-1145

2. Once we get the marriage license (not sure if we will get this on the day of marriage or if there are processing times) add this to the package, make copies of everything and send it to the Chicago lockbox, recorded delivery. We want to do this no later than December 1.

3. Receive NOA1. Estimating we will get this by January 1.

4. Receive NOA2. Our I-130 has been forwarded to NVC. Estimating this will happen in July or August at the latest.

5. Fiance in the UK receives a packet of forms from the NVC. (of-169, of-230 part 1 and 2 that will be filled out by him, an i-864 form that needs to be filled out by me along with past 3 US tax returns and bank/financial records). We fill them out, make photo copies, and send them back recorded delivery of course.

6. Interview date is scheduled. Hoping this happens in late summer or early fall.

7. Interview happens. Hoping for this to happen in the fall. He brings every single document with him.

8. Approved and my fiancé receives some piece of paper (not sure what its called)

9. Will brings that piece of paper and presents at POA. Border control then grants him a visa? Hoping this can happen by the end of 2015.

10. Next steps? SSN? Good to start employment immediately

Questions...

On step 5 - Does that mean my fiancé will have to mail me the i-864 that he receives in the mail and then I mail it back to him with my bank records?

Another question on 5 - Where do we send these to if he is living in Manchester, UK? NVC? Or a consulate in the UK?

On 7 - Where can we expect the interview will take place? At the embassy in London or are there places throughout the UK?

Another question of 7 - Do I need to be there? Or can he go alone?

Another 7 question - Do you get immediate approval at the interview? Or do we have to wait to hear back?

8 and 9 - How does this part work? I am unclear...

Final question on 10 - Is there anything else we need to do? Will he be given a SSN or will we need to apply separately. Is he okay to immediately open up a bank account and get to work?

I would love so much to have the above questions answered and of course let me know if I am leaving anything out or if you think I need to know something before we get started.

Thank you!