Our joint tax return as the evidence of our relationship

[Laura3333 0]

I do not know if you read my story or not.

So I, probably, should repeat this:

I am married to an American citizen.

I am a conditional permanent resident.

My permanent residency status was granted in Nov 2006 and so my conditional green card expires in Nov 09/08.

We need to file the I-751 petition to remove the conditions on my permanent residency.

Together with the petition my husband and I should provide the

Evidence of our Relationship.

#1

There are many documents that can be the evidence of our relationship.

1. A deed, showing co-ownership of our property.

2. A lease with both of our names on it.

3. Utility bills with both of our names.

4. "Joint" bank accounts.

5. Car insurance that has both of our names.

6. A copy of our joint tax returns, etc....

Are all of them of equal importance?

May be some are more preferred by the CIS than the others?

Is joint tax return more important than other documents, may be not officially, but still?

If we do not provide our joint tax return will it be really bad for our case?

#2

2007 was our first business year in America.

I am a housewife.

My husband is a translator and interpreter.

He is self-employed and works for cash. There are no papers showing his income.

Most of the money he made in 2007 was spent on business development and we lived on savings that we made in Russia.

So, we are concerned that our 2007 tax return may look weird because it shows that all the money we made was spent on rent, utilities and on paying taxes and very little money left to live on.

Our 2007 joint tax return is an important document proving our relationship.

Can it look weird for the USCIS?

Will they pay attention to this? If yes, what can we do about it. Should we correct our tax-return 2007?

We don’t want them to think that we are cheating on taxes.

We do not want them to invite us for the interview.

#3

In 2003 my husband left the US for Russia.

In 2004 he met me.

In 2005 we got married.

At the end of 2006 we left Russia for the US.

During all the period of time while my husband was in Russia he did not work and did not have any income.

That’s why he did not pay taxes to the American government.

During this period of time I was working.

We planned to live in the US.

So, I had to get an American visa.

And my husband should have provided an affidavit of support showing that he can be financially responsible for me.

Together with the affidavit of support we had to provide the copies of his income tax return for the most recent tax year.

So, my husband did not work, did not pay taxes and did not provide his tax return.

His ex-wife became a joint sponsor and gave me the affidavit of support with the tax-return for the year 2006.

When we file the I-751 petition to remove the conditions on my residency do we have to provide 2006 tax-return together with our 2007 tax-return with other evidence papers?

[Laura3333 0]

Hi again:)

Guys, why do not you say anything?

Should we talk to a lawyer about our taxes?

Many thanks!!!!

[sukie175 0]

All I can tell you it what we were told at our AOS interview in OKC. The Officer said that the financial ties and joint tax returns are the best evidence in their eyes.

[motu 5]

It doesn't matter how much money he is making at this point. Just submit your tax return - a joint tax return is a great proof of having co-mingled your finances. Do not stress about the level of money/income/assets, just have enough evidence of a life together. Good Luck

[kenk3z 0]

We can only make a guess.

My guess is that all USCIS wants to see is that the married couple file a tax return together as a joint return. That is what most married Americans do, and that is what they want to see from new residents too. It makes good evidence that the two people are working together as one family.

I do not think they look very deep into the tax return beyond the fact that you file together a joint return. They don't have time for that.

So, my recommendation is that you send in whatever tax returns that you have filed together as a joint return. Your case may take so long, that you will have filed a tax return for 2008 by the time they get to your case. Be sure to keep a copy of that future 2008 tax return, because you may need it if they send you an RFE (Request For Evidence) for more financial information.

If you feel the need to explain something about the tax return, you could say something on the cover letter that there was not much income in some time amount because you or spouse were traveling and on long vacation.

Good Luck to you both,

kenk3z

[Laura3333 0]

We can only make a guess.

My guess is that all USCIS wants to see is that the married couple file a tax return together as a joint return. That is what most married Americans do, and that is what they want to see from new residents too. It makes good evidence that the two people are working together as one family.

I do not think they look very deep into the tax return beyond the fact that you file together a joint return. They don't have time for that.

So, my recommendation is that you send in whatever tax returns that you have filed together as a joint return. Your case may take so long, that you will have filed a tax return for 2008 by the time they get to your case. Be sure to keep a copy of that future 2008 tax return, because you may need it if they send you an RFE (Request For Evidence) for more financial information.

If you feel the need to explain something about the tax return, you could say something on the cover letter that there was not much income in some time amount because you or spouse were traveling and on long vacation.

Good Luck to you both,

kenk3z

Thank you guys

This is really helpfull

[Kajikit 65]

They don't actually care what's ON the tax return as long as one was filed correctly and they get to see it... they're not going to say 'hey, there's not enough money on this thing'. That's not relevant at this point. It shows that you have joint financial stuff and that's all they really care about.

[*JG* 2]

I agree.....send in those tax returns no matter what they say. They can't judge on what's on them, just IF you filed jointly.

Also, Andre was issued his 2 year green card in November '06 and we are set to mail in our LOC in August of this year.....We are right there with you. We will compare notes when the time comes.

I've been collecting our evidence all along. So, if you have any questions or want to compare notes, PM me.

[Laura3333 0]

I agree.....send in those tax returns no matter what they say. They can't judge on what's on them, just IF you filed jointly.

Also, Andre was issued his 2 year green card in November '06 and we are set to mail in our LOC in August of this year.....We are right there with you. We will compare notes when the time comes.

I've been collecting our evidence all along. So, if you have any questions or want to compare notes, PM me.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

This is so helpfull because sometimes I feel this bureaucracy is just cruel.

I'm going to post more questions and I will follow your posts.

Thank again:))))