How important is filing taxes?

[frali 2]

My Spouse (The USC) has not filed for taxes in the past 3 years as she was a full time student and didn't have any significant earnings.

For the I-864 we are filing based on money in our joint bank account (assets).

Can anyone tell me if we will have problems as the USC has not filed taxes?

[cmnb 0]

My Spouse (The USC) has not filed for taxes in the past 3 years as she was a full time student and didn't have any significant earnings.

For the I-864 we are filing based on money in our joint bank account (assets).

Can anyone tell me if we will have problems as the USC has not filed taxes?

Frali - you get credited only a certain percentage for any assets like money in the joint bank account. if your spouse did not have enough income or did not file taxes for the 3 years, she has to provide an explanation as to why the income tax return was not filed. also you may need a joint sponsor. this is the best time for you to get this taken care of as once you get to the NVC, things are going to move fast over there. good luck!

[NYN 0]

Hello,

I am the USC and since I was living abroad and was a student to boot, I did not file taxes for last year and would not file this April either. I wrote and signed a letter which I submitted in lieu of tax transcripts and w-2s explaining how i had no income and therefore did not file taxes. That was it, and was sufficient for our paperwork.

Also since I had no money of my own we got a Joint sponsor and his wife to ¨co-sponsor¨ us. He and his wife meet the above poverty threshfold plus the 25 percent which is enough to support his family and my husband. He filed the I-864 and she filed the I-864A. We got copies of their w2s for the most recent year as well as their tax filings and proof of their residency in the US. That was enough.

Do the calculations on your own and make sure they make enough or he/she makes enough to co-sponsor if you need someone. I only say this because for my particular country I had to call some call center based in Mexico (our country was El Salvador) and their staff is poorly trained and actually told me my co-sponsor did not make enough! Luckily I had done my homework and told the lady who took my call to check her facts, she did and surprise surprise my co-sponsor met our income requirements.

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

My husband, the USC, also did not file taxes for three years as he was unemployed while living in Ireland with me. He simply wrote a short statement saying that he was not required to file as he did not have any income, and this was accepted no problem (we also filed on assets- a house and bank account in the USA).

[frali 2]

Thank you all for your responses.

Very helpful.

Cheers all.

[stephen.low1 0]

My husband, the USC, also did not file taxes for three years as he was unemployed while living in Ireland with me. He simply wrote a short statement saying that he was not required to file as he did not have any income, and this was accepted no problem (we also filed on assets- a house and bank account in the USA).

Was the letter that he wrote addressed to the embassy in ireland?

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

My husband, the USC, also did not file taxes for three years as he was unemployed while living in Ireland with me. He simply wrote a short statement saying that he was not required to file as he did not have any income, and this was accepted no problem (we also filed on assets- a house and bank account in the USA).

Was the letter that he wrote addressed to the embassy in ireland?

Sort of- it just said "to whom it may concern" and I brought it with me to the interview and submitted it when they asked me for the tax return, right after the I-864. The full text of what he wrote was:

To Whom It May Concern:

I am Mr Penguin, Penguin's husband and petitioning sponsor. I did not file an income tax return for the years 2005, 2006 or 2007 because I have not worked during my 3 year residence within the Republic of Ireland. Once I came to Ireland, I was unable to find work and so used savings; I was maintained by my wife upon her income and savings. Since I made no income for these years of any type, I was not required to file an income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service.

Sincerely, Mr Penguin.

[stephen.low1 0]

My husband, the USC, also did not file taxes for three years as he was unemployed while living in Ireland with me. He simply wrote a short statement saying that he was not required to file as he did not have any income, and this was accepted no problem (we also filed on assets- a house and bank account in the USA).

Was the letter that he wrote addressed to the embassy in ireland?

Sort of- it just said "to whom it may concern" and I brought it with me to the interview and submitted it when they asked me for the tax return, right after the I-864. The full text of what he wrote was:

To Whom It May Concern:

I am Mr Penguin, Penguin's husband and petitioning sponsor. I did not file an income tax return for the years 2005, 2006 or 2007 because I have not worked during my 3 year residence within the Republic of Ireland. Once I came to Ireland, I was unable to find work and so used savings; I was maintained by my wife upon her income and savings. Since I made no income for these years of any type, I was not required to file an income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service.

Sincerely, Mr Penguin.

was it sufficient?

[Chica Yeyé 41]

In some cases it is sufficient -- but it is not a bad idea to file your late taxes asap. Bren did that as well (file late) and we did fine.

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

Sort of- it just said "to whom it may concern" and I brought it with me to the interview and submitted it when they asked me for the tax return, right after the I-864. The full text of what he wrote was:

To Whom It May Concern:

I am Mr Penguin, Penguin's husband and petitioning sponsor. I did not file an income tax return for the years 2005, 2006 or 2007 because I have not worked during my 3 year residence within the Republic of Ireland. Once I came to Ireland, I was unable to find work and so used savings; I was maintained by my wife upon her income and savings. Since I made no income for these years of any type, I was not required to file an income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service.

Sincerely, Mr Penguin.

was it sufficient?

Yep, as I said above they took it and no comment/ questions were asked. We had way over the limit in assets though (house with no mortgage in the USA and US savings account), which I am sure helped too, plus Ireland is a fairly easy going embassy, whereas the Phillipines tends to be a more difficult consulate to get approved.

[Old Dominion 26]

My Spouse (The USC) has not filed for taxes in the past 3 years as she was a full time student and didn't have any significant earnings.

For the I-864 we are filing based on money in our joint bank account (assets).

Can anyone tell me if we will have problems as the USC has not filed taxes?

Under the circumstances, it would be best to find a cosponsor quickly. I suspect the money in the bank account won't be sufficient evidence of USC's ability to support the couple on a continuing basis.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Under the circumstances, it would be best to find a cosponsor quickly. I suspect the money in the bank account won't be sufficient evidence of USC's ability to support the couple on a continuing basis.

We don't know exactly how much is in the bank account, so why would you assume the amount would be insufficient? Assuming it's just the two of them with no dependents, they would need $52,500 in the bank.