RobinGT

Does anyone have experience having visa delivered from Mumbai to your home? I signed up for it when we made biometric appointment. We will be home two days after interview and hoping we get approved. But I’m nervous about delivery . 

9 hours ago, nikmak said:

Hello everyone! My wife just submitted all the civil documents and DS260. One of the civil document is birth certificate. Her birth certificate is hand written from a gram panchayat in Gujarat. I mean it has all the necessary seal (office of birth and death registrar) and a signature. Will this be okay? I am just worried since it’s not typed. Also, nowadays in Gujarat birth certificates are available online. Is that mandatory? Her’s is not available online since there is no registration number on her birth certificate. 

Appreciate any input. Thank you. 

It’s probably fine don’t send original though only copy. My husband doesn’t have a birth certificate and we had to get the village chief to stamp it and his mom to sign and his elder brother. It’s in Tibetan and he got an affidavit in India,motorized and that’s all we could do. NVC accepted it. 

6 minutes ago, BeHealthy said:

Very happy for you. You got what you wished for. 👍

Thank you. 

3 hours ago, ashish tailor said:

most people DQ in AUG 2021 got their IL today. Sept 3,2021 also got IL today.

Source: Whatapp and facebook.

Good news coming to you all very soon

god bless all and god bless united states.

Yes! We got ours today. August 6,2021 was out DQ. I’m beyond thrilled. Nervous about getting medical and biometric. I’m not in India yet so my husband is going to have to do all this. It’s all happening! God luck all who are waiting. Soon you will get your IL too💕

3 hours ago, JD2 said:

Change of name is different than adding spouse name to Indian passport.  You are definitely not required to change name.  I was referring to adding spouse name in India.  But adding spouse name may also be backlogged in US for your case.

Oh yes. I understand. US passport you cannot add spouse they have to have their own.

1 hour ago, AKN2 said:

In some places, people have reported being asked by PSK officials why they don't have their spouse's name in their passport, given that this is marriage-based immigration. Others have sailed through the process without being being required to do so. To be on the safe side, I'd say put it in if it's not too late. Also, it is another proof you can use to show a bonafide marriage. 

I asked my lawyer Abby this because I was wanting to change my name to my marries name. The process to do this at least in US is so backlogged she said don't risk it because I coould be caught out with no passport and then unable to go to India or anywhere til I get it. The process takes months right now and people are without a passport for almost a year. They know this so they should not be asking. I want to change my name as I am proud to be married and will do this once we have visa. I also Ama dual citizen so I have to change everything.

3 hours ago, ashish tailor said:

CR1/IR1 does not matter after DQ. They just go by DQ date. 

You are automatically moved to IR-1 status. 

4 hours ago, ashish tailor said:

Just file as single or head of house hold unless you are earning 7 figure and trying to save thousands of dollar of tax filing married joint. 
Visa interview has nothing to do with how you file, they just care how much you are making and if you can support your spouse you are calling here. 

Yes! The only reason I tried was because my lawyer said it was a red flag for NVC. But the letter was accepted and now a year later we have lots of proof we are a real couple 

3 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

Just because many rulebreakers don't get caught or punished doesn't mean we should advise people to not follow the rules.  Please don't advise people to not comply with IRS rules.  It is against IRS regulations to file as "Single" when a taxpayer is married.  The proper filing status for married taxpayers are MFS or MFJ.  HOH is also possible for married but meeting some specific criteria.  That said, filing "Single" when married is not a mistake you can't rectify.  Look up the process for amending tax filings.

 

Folks, visit the Tax & Finances sub-forum here on VJ for many examples of married USC/LPR who have successfully filed MFS/MFJ even when their spouse has no SSN or have never even set foot in the US.  If your lawyer or tax consultant tells you it's not possible, they are wrong.

 

I am not a “rule breaker,” a well known tax organization told it was not possible  last year. They should know the tax rules.Also my husband is a refugee . It is impossible to get certain documents and so once again I had to file single. 

Maybe so, but I wasn’t even told he could get one I think because we are missing certain documents as well it’s not possible. Either way it’s done and I don’t have the energy to hunt down documents from here. It’s crazy making already what I have had to ask my husband to do . 

5 hours ago, delhiduffer said:

Actually my wife has also been filing as "unmarried" 1st year and "married but living separately" in the second year of our marriage and our attorney also didn't create a huge fuss about tax filing (I'd like to believe he's good at what he does) even though I have an SSN. Reading all these comments about tax filing (both here and on the whatsapp group) got me a little worried but I guess, if they had to have a problem it should have come up before the documents qualification, I hope our attorneys are right on this one 🙂

I think so. I got concerned as well. My attorney had been concerned but like I said I tried to get Tax ID and couldn’t. . It was her idea to get a letter and since we DQ’d… We jump through so many hoops with this. Praying for interview and my husband to be able to come home soon.

19 minutes ago, sammy_ said:

So you are in the same situation as me?

I’m not sure if your situation. But I have had an attorney since the beginning, she’s  very good. When we were submitting documents she was concerned about me filing single because we’re married and NVC would question it. She asked me to get a letter saying he couldn’t get Tax ID. I did, and we were DQ’d. It’s all about your ability to show your marriage is real. That’s not the only way.Don’t worry it will be ok. We’ve all had to wait so long. We just have to stay positive 😉🙏🏽

59 minutes ago, sammy_ said:

I was unaware about this. I thought i couldn't file tax return as married as my spouse is not in US and doesn't have SSN. So i filled it as single. I got married in Dec 2019 and filled my 2019 & 2020 tax return as single. My case got DQ'ed in Dec 2020. So technically based on 2019 tax return i file as single and NVC approved them.

Exactly. I’m going to get a letter again since I just filed. I went to H&R  block because that’s the only place that I found deals with getting tax ID they said he had to be here and do in person. So that’s what I’m going on. Interview should be soon and I wanted to be sure to have this last years transcript.

48 minutes ago, BeHealthy said:

No you cannot file as single when you are married. This is reason why consulate is delaying your interview letter.  Approach a good tax consultant and take their advise. 

I saw a tax consultant last year and they told me my husband had to apply in person. My lawyer said that it can be a red flag if you file dingle, and asked me to get a letter explaining that he is not here so I’m filing single. He didn’t work this last year because of the pandemic so it’s just me filing. I don’t think that had any bearing on your interview. My attorney would have told us. The documents included the letter that I filed single and they accepted it. They care more that you made enough money to prove support.

58 minutes ago, BeHealthy said:

You can apply for your wife's ITIN and then file as "married and filing jointly". Do this if you haven't filed taxes this year. Research for more information online.

I already did my taxes and will get another letter for my husband. I figured it’s more important to show my income. I have plenty other documents that he is joint beneficiary on to prove we are married. I tried last year and was told he had to be here with his green card and we apply for tax ID in person. That’s what tax office said when I went there. 

7 hours ago, sammy_ said:

Yup you guys will get it soon i guess, because from what i'm observing. People have been getting interviews who DQ's from January 2021 to June 2021. I don't know about my case since neither NVC or Mumbai consulate giving me any clear information.

They don’t give any clear information. Even our lawyer said she doesn’t know.

41 minutes ago, sammy_ said:

But whenever i call NVC they keep saying you don't have to do anything from your side. You just have to wait for your interview to be scheduled from Mumbai Consulate.

Yes, once your documents and fees are accepted at NVC you have to just wait for the interview to be scheduled. We’ve been waiting since August 2021. And even my lawyer says they don’t give her any timeframe. But the couple who are DQ a month before us she said got IL. So hopefully not too long for us.

I have files as single as well for the same reason. My attorney asked me to get my tax preparer to write a letter saying that we couldn't file as married because of this.

That was what she submitted to NVC and they accepted it. We DQ'd Aug. 2021 without NVC asking for anything else. Good luck. 

5 minutes ago, BeHealthy said:

Sorry to hear this. 

 

Question - did you file taxes as married filing jointly last year?  You might have done this already ...just contact your local congreeman's office and followup regularly. 👍

Call you local congressional rep. Depending on the state you live in they may be supportive. I'm In California and the area I live has a very good congressman who cares about immigration. They had me file for expedited interview which we knew was going to  rejected. So now they send a request to the state Dept. every two weeks asking where is our interview. I do nothing and she emails me to let me know that they are still reaching out to the consulate. This is awful and my heart goes out to you. Try this and see where you get. 

7 minutes ago, delhiduffer said:

Hey @BeHealthy Nothing yet I'm afraid, I'll drop a message here as soon as I hear something. I also saw that one post, but there's a lot misinformation on that group, some people were claiming (I don't know for what joy) that ILs have gone to all applicants who have been DQd till Sept 2021 which seems to be a lie

I am on the WhatsApp group as well and only going on people who actually got IL. It does seem to have misinformation. 

3 hours ago, Priyank89 said:

at this point there is no other way to find out what really is going on with our cases at the embassy or at the NVC?

 

I called my state senator's office today and they said it takes 14 business days for them to get a reply from NVC.

It’s the same with my attorney. It’s really frustrating for them as they try to serve clients. This is a broken system and we all deserve better.

2 hours ago, Priyank89 said:

No can't file jointly, since she is not here and doesn't have SSN yet.

It is not possible when your spouse is not here in the states. NVC knows this but make you jump through the hoop of getting a letter stating this. Or maybe not. My lawyer asked me to get one last year before we were DQ’d to be sure it would not slow anything down.

2 minutes ago, RobinGT said:

What is ITIN? 

Oops sorry, I just saw the link and looked at the requirements. Thank you. 

4 hours ago, BeHealthy said:

 

Nothing to stress out. It is just one of many legal ways of proving to the consulate that you are married. That's it. Now they will have their own ways to prove that fact. 

Be patient. When attorney agreed what you did is correct too.👍

 

If you haven't submitted tax returns yet please apply itin and submit. An authorized agent can do this from india. He can do both at the same time. i.e. apply for itin and submit taxes paperwork.

What is ITIN? 

1 hour ago, BeHealthy said:

Just curious. You both are filing US taxes jointly since marriage, correct?

1 hour ago, BeHealthy said:

Just curious. You both are filing US taxes jointly since marriage, correct?

Sometimes you cannot file married. I'm married three years this May. Because my husband is still in India he has no social insurance number and no tax ID. I had to get my accountant to write a letter stating that I can't file as married until he is here. I did name hm as my beneficiary on all my accounts that I could and I will be bringing copies for him to bring to interview once it's scheduled, she can show if need be. My attorney agreed.