Need some advice, very confused!

[J.Lingen 0]

Hey guys!

I was born in California and currently living in the Netherlands (since I was 13). I have been with my lover since I was 15, so that makes it for 9 years now!

I want to move back to America with my fiance and I am still an American citizen.

What type of Visa would I need to ask for inorder for my fiance to live and work in America? She plans to work in Medical.

Is it possible or better to get married here in The Netherlands and ask for a K1 or other type of Visa form, or fly to America and get married there and

stay in America while asking for to live and work in the US?

I am really confused about which forms I need to fill in and would like to go back to the States with her before the end of Fall.

[NikLR 13,227]

You cannot get a K1 visa after you are married, they are for unmarried people only.

First decide if you want to be married in the Netherlands or in the USA.

Your fiancee (or wife if you choose to be married beforehand) cannot just fly to the USA and stay. They need the proper visa. Either K1, which will allow you both to get married in the USA and stay, or the CR1 which means you are married already. Please read the comparison chart on this forum. K1 is much fast but costs more. You must be married in the USA. Your spouse will not be able to work or go to school or leave the USA for about 90 days after you adjust her status as she needs authorization from the US government to do so. The CR1 allows you to have a green card right away so this is not an issue, but it can take a much longer time to get in most cases.

There is one part that is extremely important that you need to think about. A USC is required by law to file taxes no matter where they live if they make over the income requirements required to file. Have you done this? It will be a requirement to getting the visa as there is a form called the affidavit of support. If you look on the USCIS website it is form I-864 and it has a poverty guidelines that go with it I-864p. If you are not living in the USA, you need a joint sponsor that is living in the USA that makes enough money or has enough assets to cover the poverty guidelines for their family and dependents plus the immigrant. For a fiance you use the I-134 but when you adjust status you also need the I-864 which is why I suggest reading that form and it's instructions as well.

[J.Lingen 0]

Visa part:

I'd rather we get married in the USA. So if I file a K1 it wont be problem as we both are currently living here in the Netherlands?

And if I file for a K1 I could ask/use my mother currently living in El Paso as a sponser as we will be staying there for a couple/few months

till my fiance gets her workers permit/Greencard.

Taxes part:

So I have to file my taxes from here in the Netherlands to a I-864 form or something like that?

I'll start reading some more in the meantime!


I also found this:

Proof of Financial Support and Affidavit of Support Forms

During the visa interview, applicants will be required to present evidence to the consular officer that they will not become a public charge in the United States. You may present evidence that you are able to financially support yourself or that your U.S. citizen fiancé(e) is able to provide support. The Consular Officer may request that a Form I-134, Affidavit of Support be submitted by the U.S. citizen fiancé(e).

Edited May 26, 2014 by J.Lingen

[NikLR 13,227]

If you want to get married in the USA and stay, then yes a K1 is a good route to take. Just be aware of all the fees. Your fiancee will not be a green card holder upon arrival. You must adjust her status, $1070, after getting married within 90 days of arrival.

Yes, your mother could be your joint sponsor if she makes over the poverty guidelines amount. The I-134 is for the K1 visa at interview and the I-864 would be for when you adjust her status in the USA. Read the I-864. It is a legally binding document and it's important to know exactly what it entails. It doesn't just stop because your fiance gets her green card. Because of her nationality, being from the Netherlands, she may never want to become a US citizen.

You must file your taxes, period. The USCIS requires for you to have filed your last 3 years in taxes or have reason why not (was a student, unemployed, etc...) by the time you adjust her status.

[J.Lingen 0]

I am finally starting to get it.

So we will take the K1 route and have my mother in the US be our sponser because once we land we will be staying with her for a couple of months

then after I have been working for a couple of months we will move into our own place.

1.) File for K1, must I file for a Form I-129F first?. (and do I have to file the I-134 BEFORE or AFTER the Interview)?

2.) File taxes. Do I have to file the taxes or my fiancee who I am asking for the K1? Filing for taxes as in the yearly taxes we fill out or monthly taxes we pay? Tax rate here is 21%. -,-

3.) Once approved, fly to the US, get married and file for Adjustment (I-864 form)

4.) Ask for her Greencard. Does she HAVE to give up her Dutch nationality?

I am trying to make a step by step plan, that's the best way for me to understand everything properly.

Edited May 27, 2014 by J.Lingen

[JE57 239]

Number 1) The I-129F is the form you file with a $340 fee to start the process of applying for a K-1 Visa

2) The US Government requires all US citizens to file taxes no matter where in the world they live. That's US taxes. If you have not done this then it will potentially be a big problem After you are married and go to adjust status in the USA. You probably would not OWE any taxes in the USA on account of overseas income exemptions and deductions for foreign taxes paid but that doesn't automatically exempt you from Filling with the IRS in the USA. The comments about taxes were a warning to you to make sure this is in order rather than having problems when you go to adjust status.

3) Yes, fly to the USA, and adjust status. ONE Of the forms to do that is form I-864 but

4) A green card is a permanent residence visa for the USA. She will remain a Dutch citizen unless at least 2 years down the road she decides to seek US citizenship. Way in the future. However, there are restrictions that she needs to be aware of as a Legal permanent resident of the USA. Specifically to maintain that status she must not be out of the USA for a total of 6 months per year although that is a broad generalization of the requirements to avoid abandonment of permanent resident status.

-

Also a note about timelines. Figure that the K-1 Visa process can take 5-9 months (longer or shorter). And that once she marries you in the USA it takes up to 4 months before she'll get permission to work and potentially the same amount of time before she gets permission to travel outside the USA. So don't plan on her leaving the USA for the first 4 months that she is there.

-

If these timelines don't work for you there may be a possiblity of getting married in the netherlands and using Direct Consulate filing although I didn't look that up as possible or not but there are forums and guides for that as well.

[NikLR 13,227]

Your wife will remain a dutch citizen while ahe is a permanent resident aka green card holder. She would not remain a dutch citizen if she decided to eventually become a US citizen.

Please please please read the guides.

[J.Lingen 0]

Ok I understand everything.

I have a Dutch passport, German passport and a American Passport.

Dad was born in Netherlands, Mother born in Germany.

Dad was in the US army and served for a few years and was stationed in Germany where he met

and married my mom. Me and my sister were both born in California. At the age of 13 and so on my parents

filed for a German and Dutch passport via a judge and won both cases because i was not allowed to have

more then 2 citizenships in Europe. So I do not think I will ever lose them in this process.

-----

Back to the topic though ... My mother will be filing for the taxes and Affidavit of Support for my fiancee.

The waiting times when we arrive in the US wont be a problem either. I will be working for me and her for support while

she waits for her Greencard. She wont also leave for more then 6 months. More like 4 weeks, TOPS.

Ok i fully understand everything that I need to do and will begin the journy of the K1 next week!

Thank you all for your support, information and time for answering any of my questions.

If there is anything that is missing from the previous comments, let me know! But I think I got everything that

I need to know.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You will need to file your own taxes, even if you use your mother as a co-sponsor. All USCs in the world must file taxes on their worldwide income. They will make sure you did it, and you will need to show them, even if they don't qualify for sponsorship.

[J.Lingen 0]

You will need to file your own taxes, even if you use your mother as a co-sponsor. All USCs in the world must file taxes on their worldwide income. They will make sure you did it, and you will need to show them, even if they don't qualify for sponsorship.

Ok, got it!

Thanks!

[J.Lingen 0]

On a note: I do not have to do anything that has to do with taxes. I left the USA when I was 13 and never worked in the USA.

I am busy with a K1 for my Fiancee and we both live in The netherlands. I spoke with a lawyer and we do not have to file

for any taxes during the process.

[aaron2020 11,651]

On a note: I do not have to do anything that has to do with taxes. I left the USA when I was 13 and never worked in the USA.

I am busy with a K1 for my Fiancee and we both live in The netherlands. I spoke with a lawyer and we do not have to file

for any taxes during the process.

US citizens are taxed on their worldwide income even if nothing is earned in the US.

So leaving the US at age 13 and not working in the US does not excuse you from filing US tax returns.

If you earned more than $10,000 annually in the last 3 years, you must file US tax returns.

There is a $90,000 foreign income exemption which means you are unlikely to owe any US taxes.

Not owing taxes due to the foreign income exemption does not excuse you from filing.

Edited May 28, 2014 by aaron2020

[Sirdaniel42 86]

Your wife will remain a dutch citizen while ahe is a permanent resident aka green card holder. She would not remain a dutch citizen if she decided to eventually become a US citizen.

Please please please read the guides.

When she becomes a US citizen she will be alowed to keep her Dutch passport, therefore she will have dual citizenship.

http://www.rsonac.org/dutch-nationality/dual-nationality

Edited May 29, 2014 by Sirdaniel42

[NikLR 13,227]

When she becomes a US citizen she will be alowed to keep her Dutch passport, therefore she will have dual citizenship.

http://www.rsonac.org/dutch-nationality/dual-nationality

Have they changed the laws then? That's interesting.

Thanks for the information!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

On a note: I do not have to do anything that has to do with taxes. I left the USA when I was 13 and never worked in the USA.

I am busy with a K1 for my Fiancee and we both live in The netherlands. I spoke with a lawyer and we do not have to file

for any taxes during the process.

JLingen,

We have been trying to explain this to you and you said you understand, but now you are backpedalling.

It is a law of the US that all US Citizens, in the world, must file taxes and report their worldwide income. No matter where you live, you must file tax returns with the US.

You are a US Citizen, and all Us citizens must file taxes, no matter where they live. Therefore, you must file US taxes.

They will check this during the immigration process, and deny you if you do not have them.

If your attorney thinks that is not true, please fire him or her. That is wrong.

You probably do not need to pay taxes, as there is a foreign income exclusion, but you must file.

This is a common problem with expats because many do not know this law, so that is why we are telling you this. You need to file your back taxes, it does not matter where you live, or when you left the US.