xyz_123
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Posts posted by xyz_123
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On 6/13/2022 at 2:12 AM, JD2 said:
My brother's I-130 just got approved after 2.5 months. He had the same lawyer as me for his I-130 but did the K-3 without a lawyer. Lawyer did not care he did the K-3 on his own.
We took your advice and filed the K-3 in late June (original filing date for the I-130 was 1/28/22). Just received the I-130 approval notice yesterday (8/11/22) through the Nebraska Service Center.
I definitely feel that the K-3 helped. Currently processing times at Nebraska for the I-130 are 10.5 months, and 4.5 months for the K-3. Originally our lawyer told us not to expect anything before 13 months (March 2023) and the timelines here have suggested between November 2022 and March 2023 for us.
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On 6/14/2022 at 3:36 PM, alibabaa said:
thank you can you please tell me step by step regarding contacting Emma and then getting hold of representative
Go to USCIS.gov and the "Ask Emma" chat box should be at the upper right-hand corner. Try saying "I-130" first, and it should bring you to that page. Once you are on that page say "representative". Then click within the chat window where it says "Case Status" and following that click where it says "Connect to Live Chat." Then enter your receipt number, which is taken from the I-797C Notice of Action letter. Then ask which service center is processing your case currently / where it has been transferred.
The last two times I have tried it there have not been any representatives available. But if you keep trying eventually you will get through.
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On 6/13/2022 at 8:47 AM, JD2 said:
We both filed K-3s. But who knows if it really helped or was just a coincidence
When you filed for the K-3, did you provide a copy of the I-130 you had already submitted? I think I've got the I-129F packet ready to go but I just wanted to check on this. I was planning to include a copy of the NOA1 receipt letter. Thanks!
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On 6/10/2022 at 11:31 AM, alibabaa said:
thank you I hope all of us get the good news One thing I’m trying to understand how I know where is my case beside the receipt I received from USCIS And I do have two different receipt the first when I receive it say my case Texas service center. And I did receive a letter asking me to set up an email which I received from Vermont service center And how I know if my case being transfer ??
Use "Ask Emma" (chat window) on the USCIS website to contact a live representative. Once you get a live person, you can ask them where it has been transferred to.
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6 hours ago, JD2 said:
My brother's I-130 just got approved after 2.5 months. He had the same lawyer as me for his I-130 but did the K-3 without a lawyer. Lawyer did not care he did the K-3 on his own.
Thanks for the update! My petition has been at Nebraska since at least the end of March (but likely since early February) and still no action. I will look into doing the K-3 now as I haven't had time the past couple of months.
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27 minutes ago, JD2 said:
Lawyer said they don't issue K-3s anymore and it's a waste of time and money. People on here said the same. But it's free unless you pay a lawyer to do it, the form is very similar to the I-130, and it only requires a few documents almost all I already had from the I-130 assembly. It's super, super easy.
Thanks for the response, I will definitely look into that. I just don't want the law firm to use it as an excuse to drop me as a client.
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4 minutes ago, JD2 said:
K-3s almost always get denied but some people think they can help speed up adjudication of the I-130. I did it against my lawyer’s advice and against the advice of some members on here and I got approved in under 2 months. Did it help? Who knows. I’ve seen others do the same and it still take forever so no one knows if it really helps. But it’s free and very easy.
Why did your lawyer advise against it? I'm thinking about doing the same thing but I'm sure my lawyer will be opposed.
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On 1/27/2022 at 5:42 PM, Romin said:
Did you file from Texas and get transferred to Vermont or was Emma saying you were in Texas and now in Vermont?
I just filed this month too. You are lucky... I just found out my case was sent to California (From Texas), meaning I am going to wait another year PLUS compared to other centers...sigh 😕GOOD LUCK TO US
For USC filing for a spouse the waiting times at California have decreased drastically. It's currently 6.5 to 8.5 months with a receipt date of July 29, 2021.
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Here's our case currently.
- I-130 Sent: 01-25-2022
- NOA1 received: 01-28-2022
- Case updated to "actively reviewed": 02-02-2022
- Found out about transfer from Potomac to Nebraska Service Center: 03-31-2022
Current processing times at Nebraska are 5-7 months.
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On 3/22/2022 at 1:45 PM, Wuozopo said:
There should only be one extension.
I don’t know why you would have to file an extension and a return by the same method as long as you file. E-file if if it lets you, i.e.,no problem with lack of SSN.
Thanks, I was referring to my state extensions too. I went ahead and filed them all by paper since it was easier.
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On 3/19/2022 at 3:07 PM, carmel34 said:
I would never recommend H&R Block or any of the national chain tax services in a situation like yours. We did it ourselves by reading all the info on the IRS website. Pay particular attention to the W-7 instructions and publications on non-resident aliens filing as a resident for tax purposes. Good luck!
Thanks for your input! I only went to H&R as a last resort, after trying several other tax preparers. But lesson learned: I'm better off doing it myself anyway.
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On 3/18/2022 at 8:32 AM, devusr said:
1) I used TurboTax to prepare and print my taxes. Can I strikethrough the "placeholder ssn" and write "NRA" or does it have to be whiteout first?
I'm getting to this a bit late but just in case it helps someone else:
I was able to edit the PDF generated by TurboTax using a program like Adobe Acrobat Pro. I just erased the fields where I input a dummy SSN, and if needed I input new text there. I am also filing by mail so I did this before printing everything off. My returns haven't been accepted yet but just putting this out there.
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On 2/1/2021 at 8:51 PM, top_secret said:
I'm in more or less the same situation except I did not receive any stimulus. But specifically in the case of TurboTax, In my situation I had to go in the menus to View>Forms>Recov Rebate Cr and manually complete the "Recovery Rebate Credit Worksheet" with the actual facts as they actually exist. After that TurboTax did it's magic TurboTax thing and accurately handled stimulus payment issues automatically thereafter. TurboTax will conclude your foreign spouse does not receive the stimulus credit unless they had a valid ss# or one of you was US Military.
I apologize for bumping an old post but just thought I would bring this to the surface again, since it helped out with my 2021 taxes.
In my case I started my returns using Turbotax Online. But come to find out that version does not allow one to modify the forms directly (it only has 'interview' mode). Fortunately there is a way to download the file to use in the desktop version, so I was able to switch over and correct my rebate credit form. I received $1400 in stimulus payments for 2021 but the program kept showing $2800, despite my wife being a nonresident alien without a SSN.
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On 3/19/2022 at 3:06 PM, Wuozopo said:
1040-NR is a one person document. Even two NRs can’t do a joint 1040-NR. Your wife submitting one is pointless really. She has no income to tax. She wouldn’t get some kind of refund from doing so. It wouldn’t benefit you or lower your taxes. A joint 1040 return with a statement electing for her to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes is what you want.
If you want to file a joint return, your wife must have a SSN or ITIN. Applying with the submission of the return, they issue an ITIN, then process the return with the new ITIN they have added to it.
You do not need a CAA. You may need a tax prep person if you can’t figure it out on software, but nobody has to certify anything. You can put your tax return (with the statement electing for her to be treated as a nonresident alien), wife’s W-7, and the certified copy of the passport in an envelope of your choosing and mail it yourself to
Internal Revenue Service
Austin Service Center
ITIN Operation
P.O. Box 149342
Austin, TX 78714-9342The only required signatures are yours and your wife’s. The person at the embassy will sign or stamp that it is a true copy of her passport, but they don’t deal with/look at/ sign the rest of the forms. If you pay somebody to fill out your tax return, then they have to sign the tax return as the paid preparer. If you do your own tax return, then there is no paid preparer signature.
That is a question to ask them. Haven’t ever used a paid service or read their fine print as far as their liability or refunding of your fee. As far as the IRS, if they find something wrong they might reject the return if it’s way off like a joint 1040-NR. Or contact you in about a year saying you owe them something (only if your calculations were wrong or you failed to report some income and do actually owe.) so you straighten it out with them. Nothing bad happens like charging you with a crime or going to jail.
Your instincts and knowledge are very good. I would drop that specific preparer quickly. If you want to file for an extension, you can do it yourself but you need some rough numbers like an estimate of your total tax and how much you’ve already paid in by employee withholding from your paychecks. The form https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf
Thank you for taking the time to write out such a detailed response. This morning I dropped H&R Block and I will prepare the return myself.
One last question if you happen to know: can I e-file the extension(s) and then submit the return by paper later, or will those need to be by paper as well?
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3 minutes ago, Chancy said:
No, the embassy would not sign the W7. Only a CAA may do that. Just submit the W7 without CAA certification.
Thank you. I said this to the CAA I'm working with but she basically dismissed what I was saying. I don't think she understands how it works without a CAA being involved.
I think my focus now will just to be sure my return is completed the way I like, regardless of what the CAA tax preparer says. It sounds like I will have to do the ITIN stuff myself, which is fine. I was just hoping I could have someone look everything over to make sure I didn't make mistakes. But this clearly isn't the right person for that.
I appreciate your time, thanks
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8 minutes ago, Chancy said:
1040-NR is not required from your spouse living abroad. You and your foreign spouse must both sign the 1040 form, and the election statement to treat your spouse as US resident (not US citizen). All that's needed from your spouse is the W7 plus the required supporting documents. If you want to use a CAA to sign the W7, it must be a CAA at your spouse's location.
The thread below has more info based on the experiences of other VJ members who have successfully completed what you are trying to achieve --
Thank you for that, that is what I figured based on everything I've read here. Unfortunately there aren't any CAAs in my wife's country, which is why we are going the embassy route to get a certified copy of her passport. Do you know if the embassy would need to sign the bottom of Form W-7, where the CAA would normally sign? If not, would I just otherwise send the W-7 in (with supporting evidence) without having that box signed?
I really only wanted to work with a CAA in the US as I thought they would be able to understand what I'm doing. But that doesn't seem to be the case. I know they are unable to certify my wife's documents.
Thanks for your input
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11 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:
A CAA (Certifying Acceptance Agent) is needed to certify a passport and the passport holder must be present in person. Your plans are to get that done abroad at an embassy, so why have you searched for a CAA local to you in the US?
Yes, I realize this. I did so because I was having trouble finding any sort of CPA, EA or any tax preparer to understand my filing citation. I assumed a CAA would understand better, although the ones I have encountered do not seem to fully understand what I am trying to do (file MFJ while my nonresident spouse is abroad). I did not want to prepare the entire return myself, and I preferred to have an "expert" to look everything over (including the W-7 and other forms) to make sure everything was completed correctly.
Do you have any idea about the 1040-NR?
Thanks
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Hi all,
I am working with a CAA at H&R Block to prepare a joint return with my nonresident alien wife, who we wish to have treated as a US citizen for tax purposes. I have had a difficult time finding any CAAs in my area with knowledge of the process when the spouse is outside of the US. The independent firms I contacted gave me bad information, so I decided to use H&R. I have a good idea of how the process should be but I wanted to clarify a couple of things that didn't sound right.
- The tax preparer is telling me that my wife can submit a 1040-NR as MFJ, I think I would be submitting a separate form for myself along with that (I assume a 1040 but I missed what she told me). That didn't sound right to me and the 1040-NR instructions say "A nonresident alien filing Form 1040-NR cannot have a Married filing jointly or a Head of household filing status." I asked the preparer about this but she insisted it was possible to file this way because we were also sending a statement electing her to be treated as a US citizen for tax purposes. My wife is unemployed and has no US income, so I did not think the 1040-NR would otherwise be applicable.
- The preparer kept insisting that my wife didn't need to file for the ITIN right away, and that she could potentially do so later on, even next year. I basically insisted on doing it along with my return, and insisted on an extension in the mean time so that I could gather the necessary documents (the statement, W-7, etc.) to have my wife sign in May. Are there any scenarios where a nonresident alien spouse can file a MFJ return without an ITIN or SSN? I did find this statement on the IRS page about nonresident spouses: "If your spouse is neither a U.S. citizen nor a U.S. resident within the meaning of IRC section 7701(b)(1)(A) and you file a joint or separate return, your spouse must have either a Social Security Number (SSN) or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)."
- Regarding the W-7, I explained to her that we would be getting a certified copy of my wife's passport from the embassy in her country. The tax preparer seemed to understand this but she kept saying she would need to sign off on the box at the bottom of the W-7 for certifying acceptance agents. She told me that if she didn't do it, then I would have to take the W-7 and the certified copy of my wife's passport to an IRS office to have them sign it. That was not the impression I got from reading things here, where people submitted the forms themselves. Regardless, she seems willing to sign that box if I bring the certified passport copy back to her before filing by paper.
- If H&R Block does screw up the return I submit, what are the consequences? Is there any recourse--I realize a return could be amended but will they fix their mistake / give me the money back?
Any advice in this situation would be appreciated. I hate to be "that guy" challenging the expert he hired but I want to advocate for myself as well. I'm thinking about calling the IRS this week to ask about the 1040-NR but I'm not sure if my tax preparer would listen. Am I thinking about this situation correctly?
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On 2/24/2022 at 3:46 PM, Seemoreglass83 said:
Wasnt h and r. It was a cpa I found through Yelp. I'm having a heck of a time finding someone who seems like they understand our situation. A different one quoted me $900 to file but said he wasnt sure if their firm could do it since she doesnt have a ssn or itin.
I've had a very difficult time finding a CPA in my area as well, even using the IRS list for certifying acceptance agents (CAAs) in the two states bordering me. It seems that most CAAs in my area are only comfortable working on cases where the foreign spouse is already in the US. As a last resort, I decided to use H&R Block, but I called a local store first to set up a virtual appointment with a CAA. So far so good, and I could immediately tell this person was more knowledgeable than any of the independent CPAs / tax preparers I have already spoken to. I figured at least if this CAA wasn't able to help me, surely someone in such a large company would be able to. For the record, I am also trying to file MFJ but that seems to be the "harder" route for tax people who aren't knowledgeable with ITINs.
The only other "viable" option I have found is to look for CPAs at international / expat tax firms. They charge a ton of money (easily $500-1000) to file but they know more than the average CPA / EA would.
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Just as a follow-up to anyone looking for a solution: The US Embassy in Honduras confirmed that the embassy and its consulates can provide certified copies as well as notarized copies. An appointment must be scheduled with the notary which currently requires a $50 fee. Shipping an envelope of documents under .50kg via FedEx or DHL is approximately $80 from Honduras to the US.
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51 minutes ago, Gabriel5454 said:
We received a similar response at first. I called the IRS to confirm and they told us that they will not accept notarized copies or apostilled copies. Only copies certified by the US embassy or the originally issuing agency. You can also call the IRS to confirm but it might take a little time to get through to someone.
Thanks, it is confusing because they referred to it as a certified copy. "To schedule an appointment to have a certified copy by a notary..." I will reach out again and see if I can clarify this point.
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3 hours ago, Gabriel5454 said:
My wife and I were in almost exactly the same position. We tried going through acceptance agents but none of them were interested in dealing with normal people (as opposed to businesses, people with corporations, etc). The IRS will accept what is called a "certified copy" of your spouse's foreign passport. The US embassy in Honduras may be able to do this for you. We had to email the embassy back and forth to convince them that it was absolutely necessary (the IRS won't accept a normal photocopy with apostille, the acceptance agents won't help us, etc etc). Finally they gave my spouse an appointment to go to the embassy and make a "certified" copy. It costs $50. You can send this copy to the US as opposed to the original passport.
The embassy just responded to me with a canned message letting me know that limited notarial services are available for "passport appointments and notarizations" (due to covid). They also sent a link to schedule an appointment to get a certified copy by notary. In your case was your certified copy through the notary?
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54 minutes ago, xyz_123 said:
Do you happen to know if the "certifying acceptance agent" has to see the documents in person? I'm assuming that is the case but I just thought it might be worth finding one in the US if they can do this online.
I seem to have found an answer to this for anyone else who is wondering. https://www.irs.gov/individuals/new-itin-acceptance-agent-program-changes
Under "Document Certificating Process" it says:
QuoteAAs and CAAs must conduct an in-person interview with each applicant (primary, secondary and dependent) in order to complete the application. Video conferencing (i.e., SKYPE) can be used if the CAA has the original identification documents or certified copies from the issuing agency in their possession during the interview.
JANUARY 2022 FILERS (I-130)
in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports
Posted
This is everything I submitted and the way I listed it out in the cover letter:
It's really not too much. Form G-1145 is just for electronic consent to notify us once the packet is received. I-129F is the main form you have to submit. The addendum in our case was just to have more space to fully answer the questions on the I-129F. I also provided copies of a couple notices and the only evidence supplied was a birth certificate and marriage certificate.
Yes, you do need passport photos. Technically the instructions say the photos need to be taken within 30 days of filing the I-129F petition (and that they can't be retouched). We both used a mobile app called "Passport Photo Editor" to take the photos from our own countries. I have heard of other people submitting the I-129F using their original passport photos from the I-130 but I did not want to risk perjury over this. If your husband has access to a mobile phone it should be possible to take the photo and send it to you but the proportions need to be correct (that's why an app helps). I printed off the photos of both of us using a grid from that app (6 of them fit on a 4x6 inch sheet of photo paper) at the local drugstore and spent less than $1 doing so.