NVC Filers - March 2012

[alizon 77]

my professor said that married filing separately is also not right because HE is not filing. ITIN numbers are for people living in the US, you cannot get an ITIN number if you are not, this I know from my time working with international students with the Department of State and dealing with ITIN's for the students when they were abroad. it isn't possible since my husband has NEVER lived here or worked here.

First issue: no. Your husband has no obligation to file taxes in the US because he lives abroad and is not a citizen. So if you file separately, you two are taking on your tax obligations separately. He has no obligation to the US, so he is not required to file at all.

Second issue: no, that's completely wrong. My husband was just assigned an ITIN and he has never lived or worked in the US and hasn't moved here yet. The ITIN is even being mailed to his address abroad, not to me in the US. Follow this link: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96287,00.html

You will see that it answers both who needs an ITIN (nonresident alien spouses of US citizens, among others) and how to obtain one from abroad (so obviously you do not need to be in the US).

As others have said, you can do whatever you want with your own taxes. But please be careful about spreading information that is not documented and not accurate.

Edited March 29, 2012 by alizon

[Saylin 1,605]

Regarding this tax business, my husband will do a married filing seperately and then when I get my butt accross the Atlantic we gonna file an amended return this time file married filing jointly and claim a return. ( Don't know if I got the terms correct lol) Anyways that is what my husbands tax guru suggested...

You got the terms correct

This is probably the best option as it requires the least amount of work. MFS requires you to just file by paper and put 'NRA' in the SSN field for the foreign spouse. Then, when amending (after the spouse has arrived in the US and gotten a SSN), just put their new SSN in the field as MFJ. Saves the extra effort of getting a certified passport, filing out the W7, etc.

You found a good tax accountant as well

[sheeshkabelle 153]

Hi, my CR1 petiton got approved on the 13th of March. I've been calling NVC since last week to have the case number but they said they just received it on the 19th and the case is not in the system yet. Today, when i called them, now, they are saying that they received my case on the 22nd. How this could be possible? Thanks...

Half the operators don't know what they're talking about. It probably got there on the 19th and was picked up out of the mail room on the 22nd.

Keep calling, you'll get a number soon!

[MCMLXXXII 29]

I hope not

Wow, looks like you found a competent accountant that actually took the time to do the research for a case where the situation wasn't "normal" (ie the spouse is living abroad) instead of just speaking out of convenience, like you said.

And I agree with you, people here can do what they want, and hopefully it doesn't bite them in the bum at the time of the interview when they have to explain why their US spouse filed as single instead of married (or head of household).

Well it ended up costing me $440 to pay him for his services. However if I were to use a tax software and paid by the number of forms it would have been quite close to that. I had a multitude of forms, 1040, Schedule A, self employment, TWO state taxes explanation why I did not pay estimated taxes and that there was no penalties form, Captail gains and business profit etc. I had a very think package and my biggest fear was to scan all of it page by page on a flat bed scanned. Thankfully using a document feeder it only took a few minutes.

[Saylin 1,605]

Hi, my CR1 petiton got approved on the 13th of March. I've been calling NVC since last week to have the case number but they said they just received it on the 19th and the case is not in the system yet. Today, when i called them, now, they are saying that they received my case on the 22nd. How this could be possible? Thanks...

Grats on the approval!

You should probably be getting a case number soon. It's been taking 2-3 weeks to get one.

And those operators always seem to change dates I've seen people here on VJ get like five different received dates

[alizon 77]

Regarding this tax business, my husband will do a married filing seperately and then when I get my butt accross the Atlantic we gonna file an amended return this time file married filing jointly and claim a return. ( Don't know if I got the terms correct lol) Anyways that is what my husbands tax guru suggested...

Totally legit, and you'll get the biggest possible refund once you're able to amend.

[Saylin 1,605]

Well it ended up costing me $440 to pay him for his services. However if I were to use a tax software and paid by the number of forms it would have been quite close to that. I had a multitude of forms, 1040, Schedule A, self employment, TWO state taxes explanation why I did not pay estimated taxes and that there was no penalties form, Captail gains and business profit etc. I had a very think package and my biggest fear was to scan all of it page by page on a flat bed scanned. Thankfully using a document feeder it only took a few minutes.

Oh, self-employment, I hear that can get real nasty. But yay for document feeders!

And again, although it might have cost a bit now, it'll be worth it in the end Plus, if/when you amend your tax return to MFJ, you should get some money back.

[SlatkiSime 1]

I am holding out and not going to call the NVC today. Even if they have received the case yet it will be a while until they assign a case number and I can't do anything before that. I will call tomorrow evening and see what they say. Why does it take so long? In this time I could have driven from the CSC to the NVC myself and delivered the package!

It does take a while, so better to hold off calling. I got NOA2 email 3.9, hard copy 3.16, and they said it got to them on 3.19 and I'm STILL waiting for a case number!

[sasakul_2002 0]

Thanks for the replies... Such a relief

[Saylin 1,605]

Thanks for the replies... Such a relief

Definitely nothing to worry about. Get used to the different numbers though as each operator has their own time frame for things. "It'll take 15-20 business days", "It'll be 6-8 weeks", "It'll be next month" blah blah blah. Just keep calling

[Wolffsrain 7]

In the end you can believe whatever you want to believe. However do understand this. What might be considered correct at one govenrment agency may not be considered correct at another agency. Therefore if you might be correct according to IRS procedures, the consulate might look at things differently. Let me assure you, married filing separately is perfectly alright as there is no obligation for the other party to file a return if they are not required to do so. No disrespect to your professor but how many years experience does he have dealing with similar immigration cases and not just "Normal" tax filing situations? My accountant was unfamiliar with the laws and had to spend time to do the research for this. Many accountants I called initially, just said that you must file single as your wife is not in the country and I simply hung up on them as I knew they were wrong and just speaking out of convenience instead of doing research. My accountant took time to research and got back to me after a week and told me that according to what he discovered married filing separately would be the best option for me. My return was submitted and accepted by the IRS.

No one is going to try and convince you here on this forum, in the end you can do whatever you feel is right. If you feel that this is the best course of action and you want to pre-emptively preapre yourself for the consulate with an explanation, then that is fine. In the end it is just a game of chance and there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to interviews. It is a subjective process and what may work for you may not work for others. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

This is in regards to the same person stating they don't need their native documents to be translated into English. Seems there's a counter-reply she/he has to a lot of responses from members trying to help. I agree with you MCMLXXXII - "No one is going to try and convince you here on this forum, in the end you can do whatever you feel is right."

I just feel it's wrong for people to ask for advice in these forums and then argue with members about what's wrong and what's right.

[MCMLXXXII 29]

It does take a while, so better to hold off calling. I got NOA2 email 3.9, hard copy 3.16, and they said it got to them on 3.19 and I'm STILL waiting for a case number!

Oh wow! that is quite a wait. I thought after the NOA2, I could wait for anything but I have lost all patience and want everything NOW! It has only been 6 days since my NOA2. I will shut up and go back and sit in my corner.

[sheeshkabelle 153]

Oh wow! that is quite a wait. I thought after the NOA2, I could wait for anything but I have lost all patience and want everything NOW! It has only been 6 days since my NOA2. I will shut up and go back and sit in my corner.

lol ya me too! My husband yesterday said "I know this sounds like something you would say, but I reallly wish we get our invoices and hurry up, I miss you and I'm sick of limbo"

My husband has the patience of Job. He's so laid back I have to check his pulse on occasion. And to hear him say that makes me REALLY want this to hurry up!!

[Alia&Jerald 5]

Saylin- I need your help and guide...so I noticed today that a K1 case in DR got their interview date. I know its a total different case as mine, but at the time of giving out interview date can that mean that they are giving out dates to CR1 cases too? Should I be calling more frequently (not that I don't as it is)?

[alizon 77]

This is in regards to the same person stating they don't need their native documents to be translated into English. Seems there's a counter-reply she/he has to a lot of responses from members trying to help. I agree with you MCMLXXXII - "No one is going to try and convince you here on this forum, in the end you can do whatever you feel is right."

I just feel it's wrong for people to ask for advice in these forums and then argue with members about what's wrong and what's right.

Amen.

Edited March 29, 2012 by alizon