Coin3

Update: AOS interview scheduled for June 23rd, in Portland. A few months earlier than expected!
 
Still no update on EAD or AP. Might not be necessary at this point. 😅

Unfortunately still waiting on EAD and Advance Parole document. Last update was biometrics on February 8th.

Sorry, you're right. I was thinking of when my wife receives her greencard.

I recommend trying to get your wife a SSN now rather than later. If she can get her SSN before you file your tax returns, and you elect to have her considered as a US resident for tax purposes, then she will be eligible to receive $1400 from the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit. I did the same for my wife and we received our refund just a couple days ago.
 
For reference:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/newsroom/fs-2022-12.pdf
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-spouse
 
I definitely also recommend filing jointly, as you will receive twice the standard deduction, and most taxes resulting from her worldwide income can be excluded using Form 2555.

From what I have read here on VJ, there is no issue with applying through the EAD application even if you already have an SSN or have applied for one yourself. They will either ignore the request, or issue a new SS card that no longer states "VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION." At least that's what I'm hoping they do when my wife's EAD is processed.

Congrats on the refund! I just wanted to say thank you for being so proactive re the rebate situation and sharing your insights on here. I've been looking into the same issue assuming I'll be able to get me SSN before the deadline and all of this was extremely helpful  

I just want to update here that my wife and I received our tax refund, and she was approved for the $1400 Recovery Rebate Credit. We went through an H&R Block Tax Pro, so that they could override their software's assumption that she wasn't eligible, and so that they could attach our statement declaring her as a US resident for tax purposes and still e-file. We received our refund just a couple weeks later.

I just got off a call with an IRS representative. She initially did not have a clear answer about the requirement for work authorization, so I was put on hold for a bit while she looked into it.
 
After returning to the call, she did confirm that based on internal documents she has access to, work authorization is not required to be eligible for the third Economic Impact Payment, and thus the Recovery Rebate Credit for 2021. In her words, from what I remember, "A valid SSN is one that is issued by the Social Security Administration before the due date of your tax return. The SSN does not need to be valid for employment for the third Economic Impact Payment."
 
This is great news for us! My wife should be eligible to receive the credit, and same for your husband @kmk813.
 
I did ask the IRS representative to talk with higher-up management about this confusion, as the current message to the public, including Tax Prep software companies, does not make it clear that work authorization is not required for the credit.

I assume you are referring to the requirements for form 2555 to exclude foreign-earned income. In their case, they should still qualify by physical presence as long as his wife was in Columbia for at least 330 days of 12 consecutive months ending in 2021.
 
See Figure 4-A on Publication 54:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p54.pdf

I recommend trying to get your wife a SSN now rather than later. If she can get her SSN before you file your tax returns, and you elect to have her considered as a US resident for tax purposes, then she will be eligible to receive $1400 from the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit. I did the same for my wife and we received our refund just a couple days ago.
 
For reference:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/newsroom/fs-2022-12.pdf
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-spouse
 
I definitely also recommend filing jointly, as you will receive twice the standard deduction, and most taxes resulting from her worldwide income can be excluded using Form 2555.

I assume you are referring to the requirements for form 2555 to exclude foreign-earned income. In their case, they should still qualify by physical presence as long as his wife was in Columbia for at least 330 days of 12 consecutive months ending in 2021.
 
See Figure 4-A on Publication 54:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p54.pdf

You might try to get an appointment with a Social Security office which would make things much easier. She has 90 days eligibility as a K1, but they won’t do it in the last 2 weeks, so 76 days in the country is the cut-off day to apply. Offices are limited with appointment only since covid. Some have said using the reason “she needs it for tax filing” has gotten them an appointment. You can go to any SSA office, so try several in an attempt to get an appointment before her 76th day.. I go to a rural office and get much better service than in the big city.
 
If she files with a SSN, she will also qualify for the third stimulus payment of $1400 like you probably received around March of 2021. Not so filing with an ITIN or doing an amended return. But those will still get you the better tax rate and the extra standard deduction ($12,550) to reduce your taxable income.. The timing of the receipt of a SSN is important. She must have a SSN by filing deadline April 18 (or by Oct 15 if you apply for a tax filing extension) to get the extra $1400. 
 
There are so many directions you may go, so won’t detail each process until you see if it’s possible to get a Social Security appointment in the next two weeks. Try that first.

I recommend trying to get your wife a SSN now rather than later. If she can get her SSN before you file your tax returns, and you elect to have her considered as a US resident for tax purposes, then she will be eligible to receive $1400 from the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit. I did the same for my wife and we received our refund just a couple days ago.
 
For reference:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/newsroom/fs-2022-12.pdf
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-spouse
 
I definitely also recommend filing jointly, as you will receive twice the standard deduction, and most taxes resulting from her worldwide income can be excluded using Form 2555.

I just want to update here that my wife and I received our tax refund, and she was approved for the $1400 Recovery Rebate Credit. We went through an H&R Block Tax Pro, so that they could override their software's assumption that she wasn't eligible, and so that they could attach our statement declaring her as a US resident for tax purposes and still e-file. We received our refund just a couple weeks later.

Filed Dec 2020, Interview got scheduled in Portland, OR Feb 2022.

I just got off a call with an IRS representative. She initially did not have a clear answer about the requirement for work authorization, so I was put on hold for a bit while she looked into it.
 
After returning to the call, she did confirm that based on internal documents she has access to, work authorization is not required to be eligible for the third Economic Impact Payment, and thus the Recovery Rebate Credit for 2021. In her words, from what I remember, "A valid SSN is one that is issued by the Social Security Administration before the due date of your tax return. The SSN does not need to be valid for employment for the third Economic Impact Payment."
 
This is great news for us! My wife should be eligible to receive the credit, and same for your husband @kmk813.
 
I did ask the IRS representative to talk with higher-up management about this confusion, as the current message to the public, including Tax Prep software companies, does not make it clear that work authorization is not required for the credit.

I just got off a call with an IRS representative. She initially did not have a clear answer about the requirement for work authorization, so I was put on hold for a bit while she looked into it.
 
After returning to the call, she did confirm that based on internal documents she has access to, work authorization is not required to be eligible for the third Economic Impact Payment, and thus the Recovery Rebate Credit for 2021. In her words, from what I remember, "A valid SSN is one that is issued by the Social Security Administration before the due date of your tax return. The SSN does not need to be valid for employment for the third Economic Impact Payment."
 
This is great news for us! My wife should be eligible to receive the credit, and same for your husband @kmk813.
 
I did ask the IRS representative to talk with higher-up management about this confusion, as the current message to the public, including Tax Prep software companies, does not make it clear that work authorization is not required for the credit.

It is my understanding that the SS card your husband received (and my wife as well) is not considered valid for employment until work authorization is actually received, based on the 2020 IRS Fact Sheet that I linked before.
 
Which tax prep software are you using? I put my info into both TurboTax and H&R Block. TurboTax hasn't asked about work authorization at all, and thus gives my wife the credit, but H&R Block does exactly as you described.
 
I talked with a representative from H&R Block today, and they did find a reference on the IRS website that does mention requirement for work authorization:
 
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/more-details-about-the-third-round-of-economic-impact-payments 
"As with EIP2, joint filers where only one spouse has a Social Security number (SSN) will normally get the third payment. This means that these families will now get a payment covering any family member who has a work-eligible SSN."
 
However, I found out that article was followed up by another nearly identical article, which removes the reference to "work-eligible SSN" and instead states "A valid SSN for EIP3 is one that is issued by the Social Security Administration before the due date of your tax return."
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/updated-details-about-the-third-round-of-economic-impact-payments
 
Since TurboTax seems to not be checking for work authorization, I decided to open a thread in their support community hoping that they can provide clarification:
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-credits-deductions/discussion/recovery-rebate-credit-valid-ssn-is-work-authorization-still-required/01/2437770#M229872
 
I'm not quite in the same situation as you, as I will already be getting a refund based on the increased standard deduction filing jointly with my wife, but I am of course interested in getting the credit for my wife if possible, so I'll let you know if I find out anything definitive.
 
 

I always go by the instructions for the 1040 when doing a return. I don’t see any mention of “work authorization” so would claim the credit. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf 
 
Instructions page 57
Generally, you are eligible to claim the recovery rebate credit if in 2021 you (or your spouse if filing a joint return) were a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident ali- en, weren't a dependent of another tax- payer, and have a valid social security number.
 
Instructions page 58
Valid social security number. A valid social security number is one that is issued on or before the due date of your 2021 return (including extensions).
 
 
 

Update:
12/9: Received RFE dated 12/1 requesting proof of status of Sponsor for Form I-864.
 
The I-864 instructions state "Petitioning relatives who have already filed proof of their citizenship or immigration status with Form I-129F, Form I-130, Form I-600, or Form I-600A do not need to submit proof of their status with this affidavit."
I included copies of both my birth certificate and passport in the I-129F, so I didn't include it with the I-864 this time. They must have lost the records, or maybe the officer didn't look deep enough.
 
Thankfully, it was easy enough to upload digital copies of my birth certificate and passport to the MyUSCIS website the same day we received the RFE. Along with the documents, I included a brief cover letter.

Regardless of the cause, there have been over 800K excess deaths in the US since the start of 2020.
 
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cumulative-excess-deaths-covid?country=~USA
 
More info:
Excess mortality during the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) - Statistics and Research - Our World in Data

Regardless of the cause, there have been over 800K excess deaths in the US since the start of 2020.
 
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cumulative-excess-deaths-covid?country=~USA
 
More info:
Excess mortality during the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) - Statistics and Research - Our World in Data

Regardless of the cause, there have been over 800K excess deaths in the US since the start of 2020.
 
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cumulative-excess-deaths-covid?country=~USA
 
More info:
Excess mortality during the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) - Statistics and Research - Our World in Data

Regardless of the cause, there have been over 800K excess deaths in the US since the start of 2020.
 
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cumulative-excess-deaths-covid?country=~USA
 
More info:
Excess mortality during the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) - Statistics and Research - Our World in Data

AOS from K1!
10/30: Package sent (I-485, I-765, I-131)
11/3: Texts received, personal check cashed.
11/6: NOA1 letters received (Notice date 11/2)