wanderlust88

those who received 221g slip for tax documents - did the embassy keep your passports or return it? how long have you been waiting?

10 hours ago, Agha- said:

I submitted mine Tax returns on 28 July still waiting.

did they keep your passport or return it?

1 minute ago, Syeda Hassan said:

Yes.. but i am not getting any response its been more than 2 weeks

27 minutes ago, Syeda Hassan said:

We have uploaded on 11th sep but still no reply and even no date chagne in last update that was on 30th aug my interview day.

 is your passport with them or did they return it to you after interview?

this happened to my acquaintance. was the transcript not requested during NVC stage or it didn't come as a checklist? 

myself and everyone i know have done it without a lawyer. straightforward cases. a relative consulted a lawyer before starting the process and was surprisingly straight up told that if your English is good and you can follow instructions on the form, you don't need a lawyer. they cannot speed up the case in any way.

did anyone have their passports taken with request for additional tax documents? how long till visa is approved? asking for a friend.

24 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

 

 

wow thanks for the very comprehensive answer!  this is helpful for me and others who are also viewing this thread. you are right, i meet the requirements for 2555 as i lived in UAE all my life before moving to the US mid year. we are also planning to do it through turbotax some time in february. i will write a review of my experience once we've completed the filing.

2 hours ago, junkmart said:

Rather than going the 2555 Foreign Earned Income route, have you thought about filing 1116 Foreign Tax Credit instead? Going the 1116 route, you would include your world wide income on your 1040, and take a nonrefundable credit for some or all of the foreign taxes you already paid. Form 1116 figures the amount of credit you can take.

 

My husband was a teacher in Mexico before coming to the US in August. We are filing MFJ, I am including his foreign income with my US income, converted into USD, and taking a credit for some of the taxes he paid in Mexico.

there is no income tax in the UAE (or any kind of tax for that matter except VAT) so that wouldnt work for me 🙈

On 1/23/2019 at 7:04 PM, geowrian said:

To file MFJ, you must be considered a resident alien (RA) for the entire year.

As a dual status alien married to a USC or LPR, you can elect to be treated as an RA for the entire year via the letter.

An RA must report their entire worldwide income.

 

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf

"Nonresident aliens and dual-status aliens. Generally, a married couple can't file a joint return if either spouse is a nonresident alien at any time during the year. However, if you were a nonresident alien or a dual-status alien and were married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien at the end of 2018, you can elect to be treated as a resident alien and file a joint return. See Pub. 519 for details"

 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/aliens-which-income-to-report

"Resident Aliens report their entire worldwide income on Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ like U.S. Citizens."

(Ignore the dual status section as with the election statement you are choosing not to be considered a dual status alien)

 

FEIE (Form 2555/2555EZ) information :

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-earned-income-exclusion-can-i-claim-the-exclusion-or-deduction

Note #4 states "uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year", NOT "the entire 2018 tax year". There is a difference...one can be a bona fide resident of country X from 1/1/2017 through 2/1/2018, which would meet this requirement as it covers the entire 2017 tax year. The amount of income that could be excluded for the 2018 tax year would be proportional to your time outside the US....which you will calculate on the 2555.

this is very helpful!

now i have to do the math and see if i save more if we file separately and i submit dual status with no declaration of the amount earned outside US. this is because i exceed the 104,100 per year cap for tax exclusion on income earned abroad. 

16 hours ago, millefleur said:

Thanks for sharing. You got your replacement GC in 2 weeks?? Wow...lucky you!

 

My husband and I filed an I-90 to fix an error in his name. See our timeline for the I-90:

 

✓ I-90 GC Replacment (for Erroneous GC) ✓

22-Jul-2017: GC arrives in the mail – middle name is cut off 😕

01-Aug-2017: Sent in I-90 online via website

05-Aug-2017: Biometrics scheduled

23-Aug-2017: Biometrics done @ USCIS office; kept GC!

16-Jul-2018: RFE for supporting docs!! D:<

31-Jul-2018: USCIS Appointment at local field office..

22-Aug-2018: Mailed GC back to USCIS in response to RFE

29-Aug-2018: GC received by USCIS

17-Sept-2018: Received CORRECTED GC in the mail! Finally!!

 

No idea why ours took so long! For some bizarre reason the USCIS officer here told my husband he could keep his GC during the process, then we ended up getting an RFE almost a year later saying they need him to send in the GC...

maybe their processing time got better in 2018  

by the way, what do you mean by the middle name was cut off? on my GC, i only have the initial of my middle name. should the full name be spelled out? hope i don't have to return it again.

Just wanted to share this for the benefit of those who may need to do this:

-I entered the US one day after my second wedding anniversary

-The CBP officer asked about our wedding date and then stamped my passport with IR1 

-When I received my green card in the mail 3 months after entering the US, it said "CR1" with an expiry date in 2 years

-I filed the I90 online within a week of receiving the CR1 green card

-I selected USCIS error as my reason for submitting the I90 and did not have to pay anything

-In a few days, I was scheduled a biometric appointment

-I had to reschedule my appointment and that went smoothly

-A week after I attended the biometric appointment, I received a mail from USCIS asking for my original green card in the mail (to be sent within 87 days)

-I was traveling in a month's time so I didn't send it in right away

-I mailed my original green card after I returned from my trip. I also included a copy of my marriage certificate and a copy of my passport with the IR1 stamp.

-I received my new IR1 green card in two weeks

Just now, payxibka said:

Exactly,  you are making the election to be treated as a US taxpayer for the entire year 

I don't think you can file jointly without making that election. the other option for new immigrants is to file under dual status but then it would not be joint filing.

6 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Nope.  Just can't file electronically 

this is from the IRS website:

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-alien-spouse

Just now, battsher said:

Of course; my working was poor. Point was that our assumption was that since we both were filing tax returns, then any income, US or foreign, must be reported.

 

I'm not claiming it's a good assumption, but that's the way TurboTax steered us.

that's what i understand as well.

Filing jointly --> assumes non US citizen spouse was a Resident Alien for entire tax year --> all income for that year needs to be reported 

Please let me know if my thought process is incorrect:

As I have a green card, I will be counted as a resident for the full year (green card test). I would also have to do this if I want to file jointly with my husband.

As a US resident for 2018, I will have to declare all my income for the year, even the ones earned overseas before I became a resident, on the 1040.

This is why I would have to submit a 2555 along with 1040 to exclude the foreign income from being taxed. I will use the physical presence test and mention the 12 month period as April 2017 to April 2018.

OR

I do not mention the foreign income earned before becoming a resident on the 1040

I do not file a 2555

OR

In this scenario I can't file a joined return:

I file a dual status 1040 for the income earned while in US

I file a dual status 1040NR and report nothing on it, for the income earned as a NRA outside US

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxation-of-dual-status-aliens

Who knew US tax laws were so complex!

44 minutes ago, battsher said:

Just filed our taxes and used the physical presence test. Like you, my spouse lived in the US from May 2018 to the end of the year so doesn't qualify for the physical presence test if you use the 12 month period 1/1/18-12/31/18. So we inputted their last 12 month period of residency in their home country (5/15/17 - 5/14/18). That made TurboTax happy and gave us the result we wanted so...

39 minutes ago, payxibka said:

It is automatically excluded because your start date for us tax purposes as a us taxpayer is the day you stepped foot on us soil.  Any income earned prior is not a part of your taxable income for us purposes.  You dont bring it on the form at all.   You can voluntarily elect to be treated as a us taxpayer for the entire year at which time you become eligible to use the 2555 

in that case, do you list the overseas income in the 1040 as part of "worldwide income" or you don't include it as it is part of foreign excluded income filed through 2555?

it is, but im wondering how to exclude my overseas income from being taxed, which was earned before i set foot in the US.

Hello,

I have the following scenario and I can't find a tax form which fits my requirement!

Income before becoming US permanent resident in foreign country: Jan-April 2018

Became a US permanent resident: May 2018

Living in US: May 2018 to present

Income in US: September 2018 to present

I can't fill Form 2555 as I don't meet the bona fide residence or physical presence test requirement (I think). What form should I submit to exclude my foreign income (Jan -April 2018) from being taxed? I will be filing jointly with my US citizen husband.

3 hours ago, cyberfx1024 said:

Why do you feel it would be a problem? As long as you LIVE in the USA then it won't be a problem.

thanks! i was just wondering if anyone was in a similar situation and faced any harassment from CBP over that.

Hello,

I will soon be moving to the US on CR1 but I was wondering if I can leave my UAE residence visa valid? I plan to visit within 6 months of moving to the US as my parents live in UAE. Is there any issue with that or will CBP raise this when I fly back in after my visit (which won't be longer than a week)? I will also be closing my bank account when I fly back for the visit so I need to make the trip. Any input will be appreciated!

On 4/14/2018 at 10:01 AM, SusieQQQ said:

How much gold are you talking about, exactly? When I immigrated I put all my jewelry in a carry on bag and never let it out of my sight (under the seat not in overhead bin, etc).  If it’s more jewelry than would fit in a backpack, I’m not sure how I would have done it.

 

Unless gold is in the form of coins or bullion and worth over $10k, it doesn’t need to be declared on your customs form. https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/332/kw/332/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xNTIzNjg1NTMzL3NpZC90ZWtFcDdLbg%3D%3D

i honestly don’t remember if there is another line item on the form that jewelry would be classified as but if there is, just declare it. You won’t get charged duty on it.

thanks for your response! it's definitely something i can hand carry but i was wondering if there is any restriction at US border on how much personal jewelry i can bring in. sounds like there isn't any. i don't have THAT much (less than 1 KG), but it's still quite a bit to wear them through the journey. thanks for the suggestion!

Hello,

This is mostly for people from the Indian sub-continent who moved from some part of the world to the US. How did you travel with your gold jewelry to US? I'm not asking about restrictions in your home countries, but US customs requirements. Did you have to fill out any forms? Some people online suggested wearing them, but as desis know, our jewelry is quite heavy (especially wedding sets) and it is not practical to travel with them while wearing them. 

On 3/23/2018 at 6:18 PM, dady12 said:

you should stop advising people if u dont know the answer to someone problem,check the department of state website on what it says about PCC,I 've gone for the interview in the past and my PCC was more than 5months and that did not create any problem

 

*cough*

15 hours ago, Ansara David said:

No u have i told Co that in website  written one year but she said its UAE we look UAE law too,the CO very nice too,as u know every 6 month law are change something something so u have get new one for my advoice .GOOD LUCK

exactly what i thought. the NVC website is a guide but always do things according to UAE law as well and make sure documents are valid IN UAE. 

59 minutes ago, shahnam0716 said:

How long did it take you guys to be done from the embassy from your appointment time? 

depends when you enter. i waited outside the embassy since 6 15 AM, had 4 people ahead of me and i was out by 9:45 AM. there were many others after me and i'm sure they are going to take longer.