K1, no fed income tax returns, living abroad

[nutsmunkey2000 3]

UPDATE!!!

So myself and my wife collated various supporting documentation for the response to the original RFE, including evidence of her exemption from filing taxes in the U.S i.e. forms 2555-foreign earned income (which we had checked by the IRS and her accountant that show she was definitely exempt from filing taxes for the period in question), evidence of being out of the country (her UK visa's going back over a period of 4 years), evidence of working overseas (employment contracts), evidence of paying taxes overseas (p60's - needed for the IRS exemption backing up forms 2555).

We then booked an infopass appointment and took all of the documentation relating to her taxes both here in the U.S and in the UK along with us. The officer we saw told us exactly what the USCIS wanted before they would proceed with our AOS application. We had everything he told us to include right there with us so we made a nice neat pile and put it to one side (it was essentially the evidence listed above), we were with him only for a very short period as he seemed confident that we had everything we need to respond to the RFE and nothing was outstanding. When we got home we wrote out a cover letter explaining exactly what was in the response and why (just as the officer had instructed us) and sent it all off. I then received a letter to say that they had received our response and would process it within 60 days.

Roll on three weeks and another RFE for exactly the same reason!!!

I've scheduled another infopass appointment for 2 weeks time but it seems pointless as I don't know what else we need to send them and it seems like the officer at the infopass appointment doesn't know either!!

[nutsmunkey2000 3]

I was in the exact situation a few years ago. I'm not saying its the right thing, but out of ignorance I never filed taxes on income earned overseas (lived abroad for 10 yrs). Our lawyer advised us that my overseas income didn't count towards sponsoring my husband but getting another sponsor would be fine. My dad ended up being my husband's sponsor and it worked out fine. Do you have someone that could sponsor you in the U.S. to avoid all that backfiling now (and perhaps do it later)?

Good luck!

Jessica

Hey Jessica,

We already have a co-sponsor (her dad) for that exact reason however they are still asking to see her taxes as well as her dads. His seem fine but we've had 2 RFE's for hers

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

She needs to file taxes. Even if she is exempt from paying them because she paid in UK, she needs to file US taxes. I don't understand your response, and obviously, it was not adequate. The issue is not paying taxes, it's filing taxes. She needs to file taxes. It doesn't matter whether or not she is ordered to pay taxes. Do you understand the difference?

Edit: Reading back, we explained all this, and you didn't listen to the advice. You are lucky you got a second RFE instead of a flat-out denial.

Edited March 17, 2012 by Harpa Timsah

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Agree with Harpa. A second denial is VERY rare... in fact practically unheard of and instead they just deny.

She is REQUIRED to FILE taxes. This doesn't mean she pays double tax but as a USC she is LEGALLY REQUIRED TO FILE. I don't understand why you keep ignoring the evidence we've shown you and the many times we've told you. She MUST file taxes for the last 3 years. If she didn't earn ANY money then that's fine but as an American (and eventually you as an LPR) are taxed on WORLDWIDE income. File taxes, it will solve the problem. Or ignore us and hope for a 3rd RFE rather than a denial. I just don't understand why you're ignoring the advice to file and instead risking a denial.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Does this help? She needs to file a US tax return...meaning IRS Form 1040 and possibly other schedules if she earned interest money, even in the UK. So she reports any income she earned anywhere in the world on her 1040. Form 2555 is part of her tax return. She fills out Form 2555 to exclude her UK earnings. The exclusion will show up on Form 1040 as a minus number to subtract from what she reported earning in the lines above. If she ends up with zero adjusted gross income, then she owes zero US income tax. But she still mails off the 1040, 2555, and any other parts showing interest earned, to the IRS. That meets her requirement to file a tax return even though she doesn't owe any tax money.

It was all suggested early in this thread, but you probably aren't familiar with US tax returns. When people said filing taxes instead of tax return, maybe you were equating that with paying taxes. She is required to file a tax return if she earned any money, anywhere in the world. The form 2555 you sent in is not a complete tax return. It's not a stand alone document, but just one page of a tax return. Your two RFEs want to see the whole thing, most importantly a Form 1040, whether taxes were owed or not.

Edited March 17, 2012 by Nich-Nick

[Dave&Roza 748]

One more time, but his horse is beginning to smell really bad . All USC are REQUIRED to file an income tax return ever year whether they have an income or not or owe taxes or not. The IRS only goes after those that do not file and OWE taxes, but you are required to file a tax return every year upon reaching the age of 18 or if you have income at any age. Period. End of story. So the USCIS is asking for your finacee's tax returns because they know that as a USC she is required to file every year. If she has not filed these past 4 years while in the UK, she needs to file an admended return ASAP and you can give that to the USCIS to make them happy. Anything else will cause this to continue until you are denied.

Good luck and I hope you listen to these people as they are very knowledgable about this process and I have learned a lot by reading their posts .

Dave