kks

Hi - My sister used to be a green card holder and gave up (forced to) her GC as she was not staying in the country and coming once a year for annual renewal. Anyways, last year, after giving up her GC, she went to apply for a tourist visa and was rejected. It is surprising that her file shows that she has no intention to stay here even when she had legal rights. So, I want to know how can we improve her chance to get tourist visa next time she goes to apply (early next year). We want her to visit us next summer so we can spend some time together. Her nationality is Indian. Anyone with similar experience or advice? Thanks.

Hi all, I am filling out i751 and section 5 asks for Children details? Does this apply to child born after entering the US and receiving conditional green card? It is not very clear on the application. My son is US citizen by birth and did not arrive with me to the US so I don't see any relevance. Second, it seems like we are not required to provide photographs, is that true? Finally, as part of evidence, I am planning to attach copy of marraige certificate, birth certificate of our son, tax returns for past 2 years, latest bank account statement, and copy of apt lease. Is that enough or we should have more? Thanks for all your help.

Hi All,

My wife's green card expires at of Feb 2011 and she is currently outside of the US expected to return by first week of Jan. She will be gone for slightly over 3 months during this stretch. We will file for I 751 when she returns. The question I have is are we too late in our filing (approximately 45 days before expiration)? Also, how long is the processing period? Can she stay in the country, if her green card is not approved before expiry?

Thanks,

KK

Hi, I got my greencard through my husband in Feb 2009. I have almost a year to file for removing conditions (form I 751). However, I was wondering if I can file now. Is there anything that says that one can not file before certain time?

Hi,

I am really hoping someone on this website can guide me in the right direction here. My sister has a GC since 2000 but she resides in our home country for her studies. She tries to enter the country once a year for the last 9 years. Last weekend while entering the country, the immirgation officer took her green card away and had her fill out form I-407. The document says that she is willingly relinquishing her green card and does not wish to appear in front of the judge. Obviously, she was asked to do this (partly due to poor english) and didn't know her options. She has been given a 6-month visa and I am wondering what are the next steps in this situation. She knows she made a mistake and is willing to stay here for the rest of her life. Please advise.

Thanks,

KKS

Hi, my wife got her green card today. However, the green card is valid of only two years. I read somewhere that this is conditional green card and needs to be renewed before expiration. How and when do we apply to remove conditions on her greencard? Secondly, I understand that GC derived through a marraige to a USC requires three years before applying for US Citizenship. Is that true? If so, when do the time calculation begin - when she arrives in US or when her GC was produced? Please help me with these questions. Thx.

My wife and I are planning to visit our parents in India in couple of weeks. I am a USC so no entry problem for me. My wife just got her AP and she has her AOS application pending. She plans to stay a week more than I, and, thus plan to return alone. Could that cause problems for her at POE? Should we plan to come together so I can assist her if any problems arise? Pls advise.

Hi, my wife got her expedited AP today in mail. When we went to our local office through info pass yesterday, the lady suggested something about biometrics needs to be done. She got her AP but was never asked to go for biometrics. She, however, did get her biometrics done for her I-485. We filed AP application two months after I-485 with NOAs received for I-485. Could it be that USCIS used her I485 biometrics for AP (would seem more logical)? Is it ok to go ahead and book our tickets and not worry about getting biometrics done? Or do we need to get that taken care of? Any advice will be appreciated. Thx.

Thx. She has been in US since July so she does meet substantial presence test. She does not have green card. Now I read in many places that we will need to send a written statement asking to get her treated as resident alien (I am a USC). Is that correct? Or since she already have an SSN and substantial presence, we don't need to do that. This is where I am confused. Please clarify.

Your wife does not need to submit a written statment asking to be treated as resident alien because she can establish her residency for tax purposes through substantial presense test (taxed as resident is only her choice). The written statement is needed only when the foreign spouse cannot establish her residency either by green card test or substantial presnse test, and chose to be treated as resident based on her marriage with USC.

You can find more information in page 10 of Publication 519.

Thx again. The substantial test requires 31 days in 2008 and 183 days during a 3-yr period. My wife came to the US in July 08 but had no presence in years prior to that. That makes her not a resident alien. Am I reading this right? Just want to make sure I file this correctly. Thx.

There are a number of discussions on the Moving and Living in America forum about how best to deal with your tax returns and a recent K1. They helped us a lot.

Thx. She has been in US since July so she does meet substantial presence test. She does not have green card. Now I read in many places that we will need to send a written statement asking to get her treated as resident alien (I am a USC). Is that correct? Or since she already have an SSN and substantial presence, we don't need to do that. This is where I am confused. Please clarify.

Hi All, its tax filing time of the year and I was hoping someone on this site can help me with a basic question. I am a US citizena and my wife arrived on K1 in 2008. We subsequently got married - she has a social security # already. Is she considered as a resident alien?

Yes, as long as you were married with her by December 31.

Basic tests to determine whether your wife is resident or non-resident for tax purposes are "green card test (whether she has a green card)" and "substantial presense test (how many days she was in the U.S. during 2006-2008)". But non-resident alien who is married with USC can choose to be treated as resident alien for tax purposes, regardless of the result of both tests.

FYI - If she just recently come to the U.S., and rather want to be treated as non resident alien, she can do so if she does not meet the substantial presence test -- She meets this test if she stayed in the US (i) over 31 days during 2008, AND (ii) 183 days during the period 2008 2007, and 2006, counting all the days of physical presence in 2008, but only 1/3 the number of days of presence in 2007 and only 1/6 the number of days in 2006.

Thx. She has been in US since July so she does meet substantial presence test. She does not have green card. Now I read in many places that we will need to send a written statement asking to get her treated as resident alien (I am a USC). Is that correct? Or since she already have an SSN and substantial presence, we don't need to do that. This is where I am confused. Please clarify.

Oh great. So the tax people lied to me? Wonderful. I "don't" think I'll be using them this year.

Nich Nick - thx for detailed post. This is similar to what I have researched online as well. However, couple of lingering questions:

1) My wife arrived on K1, we subsequently got married and applied for her AOS. She has an SSN. Do we need to provide a statement asking for us to get treated as resident alien? I thought if you have an SSN, no need to provide statement. Please clarify.

2) If we have to file statement, can we do this through filing taxes through taxact.com or turbo tax, who file taxes electronically? Please let me know.

I appreicate you taking time to provide clarity to many of us.

Thanks,

Kunal

Hi All, its tax filing time of the year and I was hoping someone on this site can help me with a basic question. I am a US citizena and my wife arrived on K1 in 2008. We subsequently got married - she has a social security # already. Is she considered as a resident alien?

Hi, my wife has her advance parole application pending and we need to leave country by mid-Feb to attend some social events. Has anybody tried to get advance parole through info pass? Do they issue the AP doc on the spot?

Entered on a K1; planning to visit India.

It says that the case has been transferred and now pending standard processing at USCIS office. Previously it used to show that it is in CSC office.

Can you leave country without AP? Our AP application is pending and we want to leave country by end of Feb. We expect to get AP by that time, but if we don't can we leave the country and have the document mailed to foreign address by someone else in our household? Anybody having any expeirnce/suggestion here.

Hi All,

I am just curious to see what this means. We had our application pending at CA Service Center (CSC). When I now check it online it does not show that it is at CSC. Does anybody have any idea of what this means?

Hi,

I am applying for an AP and EAD for my wife. I need help with couple of questions.

Advance Parole:

How much do we need to provide in the written explanaiton in section 7 of the form? Does it have to be emergency related or casual answers are fine?

EAD

I am not sure what where to find elgiibility category for a spouse who entered the country as a fiance and has a I485 in process. Any help here is appreciated

Finally - a question that applies to both. My wife entered as a fiance and we subsequently got married. Her fiance visa will expire in a week, but the AOS is in process so we should be fine.

Should we put K1 visa as current status or I485?

Any help on these questions will be much appreicated.

Thanks

Hi, I had filed for I485 for my wife. The application is under process at CSC. I didn't apply for her advanced parole and EAD with her application. Should I file for these separately.

We are planning to visit our home country (I am a US citizen) in Feb-Mar timeframe (for 3 weeks). Should I file for a separate AP to meet that deadline? Any response will be appreciated.

Thx JB_VJ - Does I485 include these two (EAD & AP)? I thought they were but now getting conflicting information. Let me know.

Hi, I had filed for I485 for my wife. The application is under process at CSC. I didn't apply for her advanced parole and EAD with her application. Should I file for these separately.

We are planning to visit our home country (I am a US citizen) in Feb-Mar timeframe (for 3 weeks). Should I file for a separate AP to meet that deadline? Any response will be appreciated.

Hi All,

My finance got her K1 in April, however due to family reasons she couldn't make it to the US till early July. We got married in early Aug and are now ready to file for her AOS. However, her Visa expires in the first week of October. I read somewhere that its ok if she stays in the country after her visa expiration date as long as we get married before that date. Is that correct? Also, once we file for AOS, will she get anything from the USCIS acknowledging status change request so she can be considered legal? Please let me know. Thx.