Calebpinter

7 hours ago, Suss&Camm said:

To use Form 2555 she needs to have been a resident at the time the income was made. If she is qualifying through the physical presence test her residency will have started on the first full day she was in the US. If you want to use Form 2555 and report the income prior to her arrival you have to add an election statement that you choose to treat her as a tax resident for the ENTIRE  year of 2016. When adding the election statement you can no longer e-file.

 

Edit: I see now that your wife must have entered as a green card holder. In this case it doesn't matter about the physical presence. The green card itself makes her a tax resident.

My wife actually entered as a tourist with the intention of going back to Bolivia to finish the green card process but circumstances changed and we ended up having her status changed and thus she didn't go back afterall.  Given that my wife did not enter with a green card, does that mean that even though she qualifies as a US resident for tax purposes based on the substantial presence test that we still need to add a statement saying we choose to treat her as a tax resident for the entire year?  I'm assuming that if we weren't to attach that statement we would have to file married filing separately instead of married filing jointly?

Ok, thanks for the help!

Hello,

My wife and I got married in March and we are now in the US.  My wife has been in the US since May of 2016 so I think she technically qualifies as a resident alien since she was in the country for over 180 days.  Also, she just got her SSN in the mail.  Now that we are filing taxes I'm wondering how we report her worldwide income.  When she was in Bolivia she worked but made less than $2000 so I'm wondering if it is necessary to report it and if so, what form do we use?  Is there a way to e-file and still report her foreign income?  

Thanks

1 hour ago, geowrian said:

If you are providing a service that normally is performed by somebody as part of their job, then it is not permitted without a work visa. Compensation or not is not really the issued (albeit compensation can be used as a factor....as you would normally compensate an employee or contractor). However, there's a lot of nuance to this since it's so broad. The example of working in a soup kitchen is one fairly simple one - you don't get compensated for doing it, and you aren't "taking" a job away from from somebody else. A murkier example is helping your family build an addition to their house - normally, a contractor would perform that function. Unfortunately, I don't think anybody here can make a definitive call for your specific circumstance. It may be no big deal, or it may be viewed as work - all based on the totality of the factors involved. I don't like giving such non-answer answers (), but I really think that's the boat you're in and a call you need to make...knowing the risk that it may or may not be considered work. When in doubt, ask yourself - is there a (legal) worker who could be would be doing this instead of me?

Ok, thanks that helps a lot.

8 minutes ago, Californiansunset said:

Maybe have your friend get a J1 visa to be on the safe side?! You can get paid and definitely get lodging provided legally.

 

 

Thanks, yea I suggested that to him.  Thanks everyone for your inputs.

27 minutes ago, Californiansunset said:

A B1/B2 visa can be used to volunteer if you won't get paid for it. I did it myself. I got the help of my local American Chamber of Commerce to assist me with the wording of the documents that I showed to the CO at the consulate but you can also do it yourself. Just have the nonprofit write you a letter in which they say what kind of nonprofit they are, what they do, what your tasks will be (keep it broad otherwise they won't see it as volunteering but you taking someone's job away) and state that you won't receive any money and that you won't do any solicitation for donations for the non profit (the latter is not allowed). 

 

I also filed a successful B1 visa extension. If you do research on it you will find out that they get rarely granted for non-religious nonprofits. However mine was approved. I don't see how you can already know that you will need an extension though?! You have to have good reasons to get this approved. 

In your experience, were you able to receive housing and food while you were volunteering or did you provide all of that yourself?

15 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Obviously money is not an issue, what is it she is looking to do?

He's looking to volunteer at some sort of camp for high risk youth.

23 minutes ago, KierenHby said:

Volunteering on a B2 is tricky. If in doubt, then no. 

 

Is this for your wife?  Is she in the US and filed i485, or back in Bolivia? 

No, this is for a friend.  My wife is in the US and has filed a I485.  We are just waiting for her interview now.

Hello, I was wondering if it would be possible to enter the US on a B-2 visa to volunteer with a non-profit organization?  If so, would it also be possible to file a I-539 to extend the stay while in the US or would it be necessary to return to host country and re-apply for a B-1 visa or other type of visa?

Hello,

My wife and I have previously filed a I-130 and it has been accepted and now we have filed a form I-485 to adjust her status because she is already in the USA with me. I am wondering if it is possible to get a payment receipt for the form I-485 and possible the form I-130? I have received receipts stating that they have received her application but as of now I haven't received any sort of payment receipt. I need to get these receipts if possible because my employer is going to reimburse me for her green card expenses.

Thanks.

No, we planned on her going back until we found out she is pregnant.

Ok, thanks.

Thanks for all of your responses. I guess the big questions I have is that if I do prepare this package with the I-485, do I need to do anything about the package that is already on its way from USCIS to NVC? Or do I just never choose an agent and let it die there? Also, in those guides that were sent to me, at the top it says that if your spouse entered on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage, then he/she should return to her home country to file the I-130. I just want to make sure that this wouldn't apply to my wife? She did enter on a tourist visa, although she entered shortly after filing the I-130. Since that is the case, I assume that going the I-485 route wouldn't cause any problems? Her visa expires the end of November, so would that cause any complications? or how do we avoid her visa expiring while we are waiting for her I-485 to be processed?

Hello,

My wife and I got married in March of this year and in May we moved to the US. My wife is a Bolivian citizen but already had a US tourist visa and our plan was that she would come to the US with me for a few months while until her I-130 is approved and then she would go back to Bolivia to finish off the CR-1 process. A little over 3 months ago my wife got pregnant and now there is concern that she would not get her green card until the end of December and it may not be good for her to travel after that. We just got I-130 approval notice on Friday but I'm wondering if we can avoid having her go back to Bolivia at this point due to the change in circumstances? We have been using an online service to run our documents and when explaining the situation to them they told us that she needs to go back to Bolivia if at all possible because if not it could be considered visa fraud and she could be banned for life. We have also talked with an immigration lawyer and he said that since she entered the US legally on a visa she should not have to go back to Bolivia just to have an interview at the embassy. I'm inclined to believe the lawyer since it is his job to know the laws but given the harsh response from the online visa service I was wondering if anyone here has had a similar experience and provide some insights?

Thanks,
Caleb

Ok, and if she does come in the country on a tourist visa, will she be able to return to Bolivia one time to finish up everything or will she need to make multiple trips?

Hello,

I'm getting married in Bolivia in 3 weeks and plan on coming back to the states in june. I'm american and my fiance is Bolivian. I've read quite a few things on this forum but still have a few questions I'd like to clear up.

1) I have read that the K3 visa is becoming obsolete due to increased processing times but if I were to go the k3 route, don't I just have to wait until I get a notice saying that the i130 has been received before my wife would be able to enter the country?

2) How long would my wife have to wait before being able to enter tje country on a k3?

3) my wife has a 10 yr multiple entry tourist visa to the states that allows her to stay in the states 6 months each year. If she goes the cr1 route could she come in the us on her tourist visa for the majority of her wait time and just return to bolivia for the final part of the cr1 process?

Thanks,

Caleb