SeabreezeUF

What @missileman is suggesting is to consider marrying in the US on a visit, return to your lives in Canada, and start the process for a CR-1 visa instead of K1. We understand your intent is to move to the US but there are many benefits to the CR-1 visa so it’s certainly worth researching. 

The US citizen will need to back-file her tax returns. It doesn’t sound like she will owe money to the IRS but she was still supposed to be filing this entire time. This is fixable but will need to be done.

Unless your circumstances change, you will need to find a co-sponsor for your application. (As an example, I used my employment offer letter and was not required to have a co-sponsor.) Make sure the cosponsor understands what they are signing up for; if you are unable to find a cosponsor, the US citizen will need to find employment to be able to sponsor you. 

If it seems like finances may be tight, I strongly recommend considering the CR-1 as you will be able to work and travel abroad immediately upon coming here. The K1 visa requires filing forms to authorize you to work and travel abroad and that has been taking around 4-6 months. 

A lot to digest but an exciting time for you both!

13 hours ago, americaninlove said:

Awesome thank you!! He will go on Monday. Will let you know what they say!

Absolutely it can be done. But there’s also a reality for many people that is very complicated. So it doesn’t work for everyone. I only speak for myself of course! 

Just to clarify, the Philadelphia office doesn’t accept walk ins. You’ll need to call the number listed in the link and explain why you need an appointment (AP to see unwell father). They will then arrange an appointment for you. 

As a completely different train of thought, have you considered the inverse option for your daughter?  You could send her to a summer camp here, where she will definitely be immersed in language and activities, just not the formal school education obviously.  Just wanted to throw that out there as a compromise between what you'd like to do and what immigration allows.

I'm so sorry you're feeling this way  I'm the USC but moved us over here from an amazing city and we had similar issues, but without the added complications and stress of a child. 

We live in a neighboring state to you so I definitely know what you mean with regards to environment and weather- my husband actually develops SADS here and eventually got treatment for that, which helped a lot.  However, it became obvious to me that things weren't working where we lived so while the last thing I wanted to do was go back to sharing walls and not having space...we packed up and moved into the 'city' near us.  (<1 million people..so not really a city haha) The change it brought in my husband was almost instant- sure, there aren't 100 restaurants nearby, but there are ones we can walk to. Just having the option of easy access to a wider variety of activities, like you're suggesting you'd like, made a world of difference.  I could feel resentment starting to creep into our marriage before we relocated to our current home and now it's completely gone. You're definitely correct when saying that moving to the 30 minute drive down the road in another town can make a world of difference!

Having said that...it's very brave to post what you did here .  Do you think you could print it and show your husband? Your post is so well spoken and even keeled- I know you're emotional but nothing about the post comes off that way.  It really just broke my heart and I would imagine it could open the eyes of your husband. I know you said his practicality kills the topic when you bring it up but as someone who is always told I kill things with logic... he seems blind to the severity of the problem. You've given a lot to the relationship and he should be willing to move a few miles down the road for the sake of your well being. 

The ONLY thing I can see being a practical argument is the school district; they're so funny up here that you may currently be in an amazing one and be suggesting to move to a subpar one.  However, that isn't even an issue for you guys for years and those few years could be what you need to get back into a healthy state of being. 

Congratulations on all the exciting things coming up for you! The immigration process is daunting but don't let that overshadow how great getting married and a new job are!

This was noted above but worth repeating: your husband can file the I-130 that starts the process the same day you're married, as long as all the paperwork is ready.  I submitted mine the day after our wedding while I was still living abroad with my husband. I used my job offer letter and copy of a signed lease that was to start once I moved as my proof of income and domicile. 

I had not seen any mention of being up to date on tax returns.  If your husband hasn't been filing while living abroad, he will want to sort that out and can do so starting today.  (Note: Filing does not mean he owes anything, his income for 2018 has to have been around $100,000 to owe taxes to US while living abroad. He does, however, have to file with the IRS.)

I completely understand your struggle, being a PhD who went into industry for similar reasons.  The reality is that there are for more PhDs than academic positions and he will need a strong post-doc to help open doors into academic positions.  Since he's willing to move abroad, which would realistically need to be for about 5 years to give an academic position a chance, maybe he can find a US post-doc? Still a separation physically but much easier logistically, helps with the academic career, and is still in his niche.

I've been involved in candidate interviews for my company and have had to turn down candidates who may or may not be like your husband. I know this will result in eye rolls but I strongly suggest reaching out to a career coach. You'd be amazed at what they can do to help the interview stage. I've had many PhDs come through to interviews and shoot themselves in the foot but probably don't have a clue without external perspective. The coaches have helped a lot of PhDs I know so it's an avenue to explore at least!

He can also work on growing his network by exploring events on MeetUp and campus hosted public events, as well as shelling out the money to attend big conferences in his area. These were a lifesaver for us during our first year and getting connected to people in my husband's field. With enough network connections, he may be able to work as an independent consultant but he needs to put in the ground work to get there.

I think you may have your answer regarding the LPR status but I would just view it as worst case scenario: refiling, which can be done via DCF as long as you are also living in the UK. It would probably be easier if you could wait until after removing conditions and I agree that there are tough, long term questions you two need to sort out. The above is just some advice to maybe help get you guys past the terrible first year (it's bad for most of us!).

Best of luck!

16 hours ago, Shannon1 said:

It says they are only processing may 2017 on their processing times for Texas and the processing time went up to 20.5 months ...we will see I guess 

VSC says July 2017 but our November 2017 application was just approved so who knows where Texas is right now. Fingers crossed for you!

2 hours ago, dilip said:

It seems VSC stop processing and WAC is catching up quite nicely

I'm not sure what you mean by VSC stopping processing. We're VSC filers and the card arrived today in the mail.

1 minute ago, a.t.j24 said:

That’s awesome! Congratulations seems things are working well. Not for me though as my number is WAC 18033

I wouldn't read much into the numbers and was pretty hesitant to share ours (although I don't even know offhand if I have it correct). The important thing is that it seems like there's a fair amount of movement going on with processing now so that's good news for everyone.

2 hours ago, Mag&Chef said:

Congratulation and Happy New Year!!!

 

Can you please share a few of your case# or NOA1 number?

 

Thank you. 

I'm away and don't have access to the files but I think its 38 or 39.

Happy New Year! Great news in our mail today- we have been approved for the 10 year card! 

-letter is dated December 27th

-sent from VSC despite the case status saying local office since April 

-we were never asked to interview 

20 hours ago, Mpmia said:

Infopass appointments are not available at our local office

Unfortunately, infopass for the stamp is the only option. We eventually managed to get an appointment at our local office (an hour away) but it took ages and a lot of constant checking. We also had taken an appointment at an office 9 hours away since that’s all that was available for a long time. We got lucky and eventually snagged an appointment at 10am in a Tuesday for the following day. You may find a lot

of last minute openings closer to the holidays as people cancel for travel but appointments disappear fast. He has a stamp now for another year and they said a decision should come within six months. 

Best of luck-it was incredibly frustrating trying to get the appointment .

You'll probably find a variety of answers.  We moved from the UK to the States because I had a job lined up here.  The company did two rounds of phone interviews and then flew me over for two days of in person interviews. Once I had accepted the job, we applied DCF in London and my husband joined me about three months after I moved.

@missileman is correct- you cannot file DCF in Switzerand.  It looks like they used to awhile ago but no longer. 

ETA: Link to international field offices to help anyone else who may find this thread: https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-immigration-offices

Still no 18 month letter for us so we have been trying to get an infopass appointment to get the I-551 stamp.  We've followed the advice on here about autorefresh and alerting us to appointments for the Philly office but weeks of this has led nowhere.  An appointment opens and before I can even enter our information, it's gone.  Looks like we'll have a 10 hour driving day to get this sorted at the Pittsburgh office. So frustrating!

12 minutes ago, BenCee said:

Hey, yeah that's one thing i may have forgotten to mention. 

 

We wasn't planning on having a co sponsor at all - so if that's the case, do that mean she would have to have a job before applying for this visa?

 

Also, do we have to stay at the proof of domicile (her dads) for a minimum amount of time or can we move out and rent as soon as we want?

 

 

If you don't want a co-sponsor, then yes, she will need a job showing she earns enough to sponsor you.  

We did the CR-1 route, so slightly different that your route.. but in our case, we decided to move once I had a job offer in the USA.  I used that offer letter, which included the start date and annual salary, for the income requirement.  I also started a lease with an apartment to coincide with a few weeks prior to my start date and used that for my domicile.

As an aside, it's worth researching the CR-1 visa option since you are both UK residents.  This allows you to directly file with in the UK and significantly reduce your wait times.  With the CR-1, you're able to start working and traveling as soon as you arrive (vs waiting months like you do on the K1).  We did our visa a few years ago but it was 3 months from me filing the I-130 to getting his visa approved (not sure of the current wait times.)  The obvious difference  is that K-1 is fiance and CR-1 is spouse so it's up to you guys if you want to be married before filing or not. Just worth considering! (I filed my petition the day after we got married and didn't have any issues)

On 10/8/2018 at 4:29 PM, Julie+Matt said:

I still haven’t received any sort of extension letter for my husband...November filer to Vermont 

We're in the same boat- no letter, VSC. I think come November, we will start playing the infopass appointment game.

21 hours ago, tayae said:

I am so distraught right now. We are 7 months into the K1 process and only just realised that we could've done DCF for a CR-1 because I have been living in the UK for 4 years. At the beginning of the process we looked into CR-1's but saw that the usual processing time is 12-14 months and didn't see anything about direct consular filing, and we liked the idea of getting married in the US. Anyone else gotten themselves into this ordeal? The thought of those thousands of dollars going down the drain is nearly bringing me to tears...Can't believe we screwed up this badly...Getting married in US is not worth that amount of loss... 😞😰

Oh gosh. I feel really bad now since I'm the one that pointed out that option.  Please don't beat yourself up over this! There's no right or wrong path and you're almost done! It seems like a huge deal now but in a few years, it won't. This whole process is good at causing anxiety and panic but it gets better. All that matters is reaching the finish line.

Just in case it's relevant to you... if you've been living in the UK for six months or longer, you are eligible to apply DCF for the CR-1 visa. It's about as speedy as the process can get (took us 3 months total from filing to getting my husband's visa in hand) but may not be an option for you for many reasons.  Just wanted to make sure you were aware though  You'll still need a co-sponsor and unfortunately, I have to defer to others here who are more knowledgeable on that for your original question.

12 hours ago, Amadia said:

Check the state and district information for your address and see what schools he qualifies for. I know in Florida they zone you but not sure for your intended state.

Delaware zones as well and where the OP is saying they intend to move will not be zoned for that district.

Since his wife is from the US, she’s probably covered this already but just to be safe: Is the selected school public or private?  Cape Henlopen is not in northern Delaware so buying property up there won’t help if this is a public school. If a private school, you likely would have already had to apply/have enrollment details and there are really great private schools in northern Delaware that will be significantly shorter commute times. 

OP, please contact the school you have in mind since they’re the only ones who can truly answer your questions. Best of luck- I know that age/school year is stressful , even without a big move! 

2 minutes ago, larnar1309 said:

Yea - it’s just tough because I can’t drive yet and my husband works full time so to get into Denver isn’t exactly easy for me! There doesn’t seem to be anything available in boulder  I am so surprised that there is not really any government support with this kind of issue that must happen to so many people! Why are they making it so complicated 😭 wish someone would just tell me a percentage and I would just pay that to the IRS every quarter 🙈🙈

They may be able to help you remotely so perhaps call and ask? I used to do my taxes with my accountant remotely when I was in the UK so it's worth a shot. You could also try calling the IRS directly and see what they tell you.  And if you ever get an answer, please let us know!

19 minutes ago, larnar1309 said:

Thanks for your suggestion. My main issue is that I am not my own business so I don't want to set up an LLP etc. I work for a British company and they pay in GBP to my British Bank account. They will not pay into a US bank account.  So I need to find someone who can help me with this particular setting.

I'm  hoping  @Wuozopo will be able to help you! My husband's company refused to deal with US payroll and moved him into a contractor's role to avoid the headache so I'm not sure what to do   It's probably  worth calling a few of the international tax accountancy firms in Denver to explain your situation, make an appointment with whoever seems more useful and see what they advise.

49 minutes ago, SeabreezeUF said:

Hi,

 

We have same situation that you're in. I'm very surprised you weren't able to get advice on this from any tax advisers! I can't tell from your post if you're getting paid into a UK or US bank account but I'll try to help.

 

First, are you set up to work as a contractor here? You need to establish yourself as a business- most likely an LLC.  I'm not 100% sure how CO deals with that but in our state, we just had to fill out a form and file it, paying a minimal fee to do so.

 

After you're established as an LLC, open a bank account here in the US for that business.  Have your UK company pay you directly into this account. This makes the rest very easy for an accountant (or yourself) to do the taxes. Money coming into this account is all taxable. We then transfer what he needs to live to his personal account. Sum it up the payments into the business at the end of the year, calculate taxes due on it, send check to IRS.  We assumed 40%-50% going to taxes so he never transferred too much out and had the savings to cover taxes.

 

The UK company pays my husband directly into his US company's (he is a business of one- himself) bank account.  For the first year (the year you're in), he waited to pay all his taxes at the end of the tax year. He used each monthly transaction to add up his income to then take taxes out of all of it.  We used that number to do estimated taxes from then on- in other words, we assume he'll pay the same amount of taxes but want to pay it over the course of the year, so each quarter, we send the IRS 1/4 of what we expect him to have to pay for the total year.  If we get it wrong, we either pay a bit more at the end of the year or get some money back.

 

You should have no problems getting a tax adviser to help sort that out for you. Maybe ask someone for advice on setting up and LLC and taxes for a contractor. It's the foreign bit that's throwing them off apparently.

 

I hope that helps some.  

I missed the window to be able to edit my post.  Please note this is just how *we* did this. There are a few different paths to take but my husband wanted his business operations to be totally separate from persona matters for liability reasons, which is a big reason many set up an LLC. But it's not required. You can search online to see if you an LLC makes sense to you.

Just trying to help but mods please delete my posts if they're problematic.

25 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

First of all, you have to establish if you are an employee of the company or a contractor.

 

I have spoken to IRS directly about this after bumping up to a specific department.

What is supposed to be done according to the IRS person:

 

Your UK company must get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. Yes, they do issue them to UK companies. The lady I spoke to issues them.

 

If a contractor you are considered self-employed to the IRS. You file Schedule C and Schedule SE along with whatever other forms your tax return requires. Nothing is held out of your checks by the employing company for tax, Social Security, and Medicare. You are responsible for sending quarterly estimates for those to the IRS. Think of it as doing your own withholding. But instead of each payday, you only are required to send every 3 months. There are certain dates when quarterly payments are due and you pay it online or mail a check. (You can look dates  up on the IRS.GOV website.)  The IRS does not want you to pay it all in at tax filing time. You can owe a penalty for not paying as you go.

 

Your employing company has to issue you a 1099-MISC in January following the end of a tax year showing your total yearly earnings. They send the same information to the IRS. That's why they need an EIN with the IRS. They can submit to the IRS online.

 

If you are an employee, the UK company must withhold tax, Social Security, and Medicare from your paycheck. They must transfer that money to the IRS each time they pay you. Again, that's why they need an EIN. It can be set up to do this online or there are agents that will do it for them for a fee. They can't pass that fee on to you. An employer also has to pay (out of their pocket) half of your Social Security fees. At the end of the tax year, they issue you a W2 wage statement and report the same to the IRS. 

 

Being a contractor seems easier on your company. 

 

Edit to add: After seeing the previous post added while I was typing, I wanted to say I have been a self-employed contractor for a number of years. I did not set up anything to be a contractor. Maybe that depends on your state. I did not set up an LLC.  I report my business earnings to the IRS on Schedule C when I file my own taxes. 

 

 

 

 

Just different ways to do different things. Both work and your details probably are more helpful since I forgot the EIN part of it.  I will edit or delete my post since it will cause confusion since that wasn't my intention.

Hi,

We have same situation that you're in. I'm very surprised you weren't able to get advice on this from any tax advisers! I can't tell from your post if you're getting paid into a UK or US bank account but I'll try to help.

First, are you set up to work as a contractor here? You need to establish yourself as a business- most likely an LLC.  I'm not 100% sure how CO deals with that but in our state, we just had to fill out a form and file it, paying a minimal fee to do so.

After you're established as an LLC, open a bank account here in the US for that business.  Have your UK company pay you directly into this account. This makes the rest very easy for an accountant (or yourself) to do the taxes. Money coming into this account is all taxable. We then transfer what he needs to live to his personal account. Sum it up the payments into the business at the end of the year, calculate taxes due on it, send check to IRS.  We assumed 40%-50% going to taxes so he never transferred too much out and had the savings to cover taxes.

The UK company pays my husband directly into his US company's (he is a business of one- himself) bank account.  For the first year (the year you're in), he waited to pay all his taxes at the end of the tax year. He used each monthly transaction to add up his income to then take taxes out of all of it.  We used that number to do estimated taxes from then on- in other words, we assume he'll pay the same amount of taxes but want to pay it over the course of the year, so each quarter, we send the IRS 1/4 of what we expect him to have to pay for the total year.  If we get it wrong, we either pay a bit more at the end of the year or get some money back.

You should have no problems getting a tax adviser to help sort that out for you. Maybe ask someone for advice on setting up and LLC and taxes for a contractor. It's the foreign bit that's throwing them off apparently.

I hope that helps some.