Urgent, Responding to i-751 RFE. Issues with joint Tax Return.

[TheUser2011 0]

We married in 2008 and applied soon after.

Two year Conditional GC was issued after an interview in 2009.

We filed for removal of condition in May-2011

Went for Biometric exam.

Got RFE I-797E in October-2011 which asks for financial records, 2009 and 2010 tax returns, joint ownership of property, child etc etc.

This became a major issue for us, because the accountant had filed both our previous tax returns as single, and we honestly believed that was a legitimate option.

Anyway long story short, we went to HR block and amended the 1040 to get 1040x. They attached a statement to it saying that we had originally filed as single and then changed it to married filing jointly!

We are now worried that USCIS may think that our marriage is a sham. Our lawyer advised to submit an Account Transcript to the USCIS instead of the tax return (but we can't get Account Transcript in the 4-5 days that we have left, it takes IRS 8-12 weeks to process it and we're in week 5.

The USCIS did not explicitly ask for our tax returns but looks like they have a lot of weight in how they view our case. Which part of the Tax Return is important to the USCIS at the Removal Of Condition stage? They are askig for all statements, schedules, w2s etc etc the whole nine yard.

We have some four options that i can think of:

1- Submit the "Explanation of Change" but also add a letter and explain the situation to the USCIS.

2- Submit the Amended Tax Return without the "Explanation of Change Statement", Although it will look like we are hiding something.

3- Not submit the tax return at all and only submit the other supporting financial documents and hope for the best because.

4- Someone on the forum said that we should file a law suit against the accountant for advising us wrongly, we have emails that we told him we were married but he overlooked it. But i really don't want to get engaged in a law suit.

We are also sending these documents in the response to the RFE:

 Affidavit from our Apartment Management

 Affidavit from friends and family

 Joint utility and water bills for the last 3 years

 Photos of us with friends and family over the last 3 years

 Health-Dental insurance

 lease agreement showing my wife and I as joint owners.

 Joint ownership of a Car (since last month)

 Joint car insurance (on and off over the last 3 years)

 Both our 401k and Life Insurance showing each other as spouse

We have another 5-10 days before the deadline including the Xmas and New Year's to submit a Response to the RFE and would really appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks

[Frank and Racquel 18]

We married in 2008 and applied soon after.

Two year Conditional GC was issued after an interview in 2009.

We filed for removal of condition in May-2011

Went for Biometric exam.

Got RFE I-797E in October-2011 which asks for financial records, 2009 and 2010 tax returns, joint ownership of property, child etc etc.

This became a major issue for us, because the accountant had filed both our previous tax returns as single, and we honestly believed that was a legitimate option.

Anyway long story short, we went to HR block and amended the 1040 to get 1040x. They attached a statement to it saying that we had originally filed as single and then changed it to married filing jointly!

We are now worried that USCIS may think that our marriage is a sham. Our lawyer advised to submit an Account Transcript to the USCIS instead of the tax return (but we can't get Account Transcript in the 4-5 days that we have left, it takes IRS 8-12 weeks to process it and we're in week 5.

The USCIS did not explicitly ask for our tax returns but looks like they have a lot of weight in how they view our case. Which part of the Tax Return is important to the USCIS at the Removal Of Condition stage? They are askig for all statements, schedules, w2s etc etc the whole nine yard.

We have some four options that i can think of:

1- Submit the "Explanation of Change" but also add a letter and explain the situation to the USCIS.

2- Submit the Amended Tax Return without the "Explanation of Change Statement", Although it will look like we are hiding something.

3- Not submit the tax return at all and only submit the other supporting financial documents and hope for the best because.

4- Someone on the forum said that we should file a law suit against the accountant for advising us wrongly, we have emails that we told him we were married but he overlooked it. But i really don't want to get engaged in a law suit.

We are also sending these documents in the response to the RFE:

 Affidavit from our Apartment Management

 Affidavit from friends and family

 Joint utility and water bills for the last 3 years

 Photos of us with friends and family over the last 3 years

 Health-Dental insurance

 lease agreement showing my wife and I as joint owners.

 Joint ownership of a Car (since last month)

 Joint car insurance (on and off over the last 3 years)

 Both our 401k and Life Insurance showing each other as spouse

We have another 5-10 days before the deadline including the Xmas and New Year's to submit a Response to the RFE and would really appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks

option 2 sounds best , stop sweating ok. If they say something then just explain that the bozo acct advised you wrong and you fixed it, period. With all your other proof I wouldn't worry, looks good for you guys. Good Luck. Oh make sure you bring your w-2's showing same last name and address.

Edited December 13, 2011 by Frank and Racquel

[Frank and Racquel 18]

If anything its gonna look like you tried to cheat on your taxes LOL but you fixed it and you have a legitimate story. If you are really paranoid , what you can do is copy the info from the 1040x on to a regular 1040 and print it out as if it was the original. Sign it and use that as the tax returns. Basically they only want see them to varify income to satisfy the I-864. As long as the info on the 1040's you submit matc an IRS transcript, then dont worry. If all the numbers are the same you should be ok because if they suspect fake tax return they can pull your tax transcript to double check it. But dont worry because you fixed it right? Everything matches now. Good Luck

[Frank and Racquel 18]

This became a major issue for us, because the accountant had filed both our previous tax returns as single, and we honestly believed that was a legitimate option.

It is an option if you 2 are not living together at the same house. But if your living together and are legally married , then its not an option. Its hard to explain but the tax laws and IRS codes are a whole different world then regular law. For example, "seperation or legal seperation" doesn't exist anymore in most states, your either married or not married, period. But under the IRS code, If you are living seperate lives then you are single regardless of any divorce decree or not.

[Frank and Racquel 18]

I am sorry for so many posts, I keep coming back to this because its an interesting case, I keep analyzing it.

4- Someone on the forum said that we should file a law suit against the accountant for advising us wrongly, we have emails that we told him we were married but he overlooked it. But i really don't want to get engaged in a law suit.

You can only sue him for malpractice and you need to prove damages. It doesn't sound like you suffered any monetary damage except for the cost of going to HR Block and fixing it. What you should do is file a complaint with the licensing board. Google " CPA Licensing board in Washington" you live in Washington state right? You should get a hit to the States website and get to that entity who regulates CPA's in your state. They probably have an electronic complaint form. Fill it up and report that guy.

Personal note: I dont like CPA's hehehehe, they rip you off.

Edited December 13, 2011 by Frank and Racquel

[Frank and Racquel 18]

If anything its gonna look like you tried to cheat on your taxes LOL but you fixed it and you have a legitimate story. If you are really paranoid , what you can do is copy the info from the 1040x on to a regular 1040 and print it out as if it was the original. Sign it and use that as the tax returns. Basically they only want see them to varify income to satisfy the I-864. As long as the info on the 1040's you submit matc an IRS transcript, then dont worry. If all the numbers are the same you should be ok because if they suspect fake tax return they can pull your tax transcript to double check it. But dont worry because you fixed it right? Everything matches now. Good Luck

LOL ok this is last post, I thought of something else. Filing married filing jointly is actually better, maybe you guys are going to get money back now? Married filing jointly is in a lower tax bracket and larger standard deduction etc . Did HR Block say you where going to get some money back?

[Oksana & Max 94]

Actually there is nothing wrong in filing separately, except you cheat yourself on taxes, as married couples do get a tax break as other poster mentioned.

But with all the evidence you have, you should be just fine.

[Frank and Racquel 18]

Actually there is nothing wrong in filing separately, except you cheat yourself on taxes, as married couples do get a tax break as other poster mentioned.

But with all the evidence you have, you should be just fine.

oh your right, you can file as "Married filing seperately" but then you cant itemize or take other credits/deductions. I just meant before that you cant file as single if your married and living together

Actually there is nothing wrong in filing separately, except you cheat yourself on taxes, as married couples do get a tax break as other poster mentioned.

But with all the evidence you have, you should be just fine.

oh your right, you can file as "Married filing seperately" but then you cant itemize or take other credits/deductions. I just meant before that you cant file as single if your married and living together

[TheUser2011 0]

Hi Frank, thank you for your thoughts and caring to comment on our case.

Some additional info:

H&R block said with the amended 1040x we will get over $3000 back from the IRS!

Another reason why the accountant's work made no sense at all.... It truly looks like one of these two:

1- He was out of his sane mind.

2- A trusted professional who does our taxes for 3 years in a row says we are both single and we sign it on a very legal document.

If the USCIS is looking for an excuse to deny us, then (2) will give them just what they are looking for.

He made other errors too that i have in emails and copies of tax returns that he sent to me, for example our addresses were wrong! My wife's work was put down as my work, I had to email him the form back and sit with him on the phone a couple of times before we finally got it right. Note that he works remotely on his cellular phone form South America and I have never seen him in person.

He also thought we should send the USCIS new 1040 forms and simultaneously file matching 1040x to the IRS so by the time the USCIS gets to process our response to RFE the IRS will have processed our 1040x and we end up with matching figures that will confirm. But when I consulted a laywer he said if USCIS gets 1040x from the IRS it will not be a match even if the figures are the same and he suggested that we should send Account Transcripts after the 1040x has been processed but we are running out of time and can't get Account Transcripts for another 2-3 weeks at least. Especially slower over the holidays.

Anyway our W2s, bills, lease, drivers license, car license, affidavits, health insurance etc etc all show that we live in the same address.. even the original tax returns show that we live in the same address but the accountant's mistake makes it look like we are living in the same address and we are also married on paper but we are still single!