Unique Situation

[blickey 0]

Hi All,

I've got a tricky visa query that I was hoping to get some help with. I've searched high and low but not been able to find any info on this particular situation.

I am born and raised in Australia but have dual Australian/U.S. citizenship and have a U.S. Passport and Social Security Number.

My wife (Australian citizen) and I are planning to travel to the U.S. and spend 3-4 months traveling around before settling in NYC to work for at least 12 months if not longer.

What are our options if my wife does not want to immigrate to the U.S. permanently but wants to work for a prolonged period of time? Do we still have to apply for IR-1/CR-1 visa through DCF? I believe this will be the quickest process through the Sydney U.S. Consulate. If this is the case then I have some questions about the application process:

1. We don't have an address in the U.S. so can't answer question 18 on the I-130 form regarding the address where you intend to live. Can I just give an American relative's address even if we aren't sure if we'll settle there for very long?
   
2. I don't have any finances in the US and have only worked there for 2 months back in 2000 at a summer camp. Will I be expected to provide U.S. tax returns at any stage?
   
3. Who can fill out the I-864 sponsor form? It seems that it has to be filled out by someone residing in the U.S. Are there any options other than filling out this form?
   
4. What happens when we leave the U.S.? Can my wife then come and go from the U.S. freely or would we have to apply again?
   

Happy to hear any suggestions, advice, experiences, etc.

Thanks

[Penguin_ie 5,992]

Your wife has three options:

- Come on the visa waiverprogram, but only for 90 days,then return to Australia for 90 days, come back, and so on. Cannot work on this.

- Get a working visa (sponsored by a company). Would need to be highly skilled for this.

- Spousal visa via DCF, as you say.

1. Relative's address is fine.

2, Yes, as a US Citizen, you are suppoed to file US taxes. You can back-file (need to do so for at least the last three years), it's not a major issue.

3. As her spouse, you are the main sponsor and must fill out the I-864. If you cannot financially sponsor your wife through income (unlikely in a DCF case, as income must be continuing when in the US) or assets (savings, property etc), then you may have a co-sponsor. This person must legally reside in the USA- a relative or friend.

4. Depends. Best thing would be to stay in the USA for three years, then apply for citizenship (you can visit Australia during this time, but not live there). Once she has citizenship, she can come and go as she pleases. If she does not want to get citizenship or does not want to stay that long, she will loose her greencard if she resides abroad or spends too much time abroad (generally, she will be expected to live in the USA more than half the year). Best thing would be to officially abandon her greencard by giving it to the US embassy in Australia, which means she will be elligible for travel on the VWP again. But if you want to go back to work in the USA then yes, she would need to go through the whole greencard process again and pay the fees again.

[blickey 0]

Thanks for the response.

So, despite having lived in Australia most of my life I am still expected to lodge US tax returns each year? Seems strange. I guess I just lodge it full of zeros. haha.

Also, if my wife does stay for 3 years and apply for citizenship is there a certain amount of time during the 3 years she must have spent in the U.S.? I know in the U.K. you have to have spent 90% of the time in the U.K. in order to apply for citizenship.

Will she have to give up her Australian citizenship if she pursues U.S. citizenship?

Cheers

Your wife has three options:

- Come on the visa waiverprogram, but only for 90 days,then return to Australia for 90 days, come back, and so on. Cannot work on this.

- Get a working visa (sponsored by a company). Would need to be highly skilled for this.

- Spousal visa via DCF, as you say.

1. Relative's address is fine.

2, Yes, as a US Citizen, you are supposed to file US taxes. You can back-file (need to do so for at least the last three years), it's not a major issue.

3. As her spouse, you are the main sponsor and must fill out the I-864. If you cannot financially sponsor your wife through income (unlikely in a DCF case, as income must be continuing when in the US) or assets (savings, property etc), then you may have a co-sponsor. This person must legally reside in the USA- a relative or friend.

4. Depends. Best thing would be to stay in the USA for three years, then apply for citizenship (you can visit Australia during this time, but not live there). Once she has citizenship, she can come and go as she pleases. If she does not want to get citizenship or does not want to stay that long, she will loose her greencard if she resides abroad or spends too much time abroad (generally, she will be expected to live in the USA more than half the year). Best thing would be to officially abandon her greencard by giving it to the US embassy in Australia, which means she will be elligible for travel on the VWP again. But if you want to go back to work in the USA then yes, she would need to go through the whole greencard process again and pay the fees again.

[Penguin_ie 5,992]

Yeah the tax filing is unique to the USA- you won't have to pay any taxes, but you must file.

Before citizenship, if your wife stays out of the US for more than 6 months, her citizenship clock stops; if she stays out more than a year, it re-sets to zero. But there isn't a % thing like in the UK.

The US allows dual citizenship, I don't know about Australia.

[LotofPatience 65]

Thanks for the response.

So, despite having lived in Australia most of my life I am still expected to lodge US tax returns each year? Seems strange. I guess I just lodge it full of zeros. haha.

Also, if my wife does stay for 3 years and apply for citizenship is there a certain amount of time during the 3 years she must have spent in the U.S.? I know in the U.K. you have to have spent 90% of the time in the U.K. in order to apply for citizenship.

Will she have to give up her Australian citizenship if she pursues U.S. citizenship?

Cheers

Australia introduced dual citizenship since 4 April 2002.

Regarding U.S tax filing - Generally if your Gross income is less than $18,700 (for the year 2009 and MFJ), you may NOT need to file U.S taxes. You know the reason why? Standrard deduction and 2 persons (MFJ) personal exemptions will offset the income and the taxable income will become zero.

Simple math: Your gross income as MFJ - $18,700

Less Standard Deduction - $11,400

Less Personal Exemption - 2 * $3,650

Taxable Income - $0

Tha amount $18,700 will be different for different years and different filing status.

Having said this, it is a good practise to file U.S taxes if you need to refer it for anything in the future.

Loto